John 13:35 - By
this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.
At a high school in the 1960s, one student was a self-proclaimed
Civil War enthusiast. Though he grew up
in the Northeast, he was fascinated by the rebel soldiers and generals. Someone gifted him a coat that resembled
General Lee's and he wore it every single day.
When his class voted on senior superlatives, his classmates voted him
mostly likely to secede.
Our identities matter.
And those identities are formed by many things. It matters how we build ours and what that
resulting identity is. If I asked most
of you right this minute to identify yourselves, most of you would reach for
your wallet and show me your... driver’s license.
In our country, we begin to identify as adults and
independent by our society's greatest measure of skill... driving ability. Our
teens are very concerned with this passage into adulthood and aging adults
often name the loss of license as the biggest feeling of loss in independence.
Our accomplishments define us, the best... and the
worst... of our ACTIONS. Christ tells us
in this passage that his hope, his one and only command to them in the book of
John is to LOVE one another. And that
loving each other as HE loved them would be so profound and so evident, that
they would be identified by it.
The emperor Julian of Rome was quoted once as saying
that, “The Godless Galileans,” (meaning us, as we Christian have one God and
the Romans had many), “The Godless Galileans feed our poor in addition to their
own.”
The early church was identified by their love for one
another and the stranger, the widow and orphan, no matter who they were.
Is the Church identified that way now? Is OUR church? You... and your family? In your neighborhood, your sports and rec
leagues, your social circles? Is your
family known as that family that loves? “They must be Christians! They love everyone! That’s who they are!”
When I went to my grandfather's wake, dozens of people
stopped me to tell me what my grandfather meant to them. Golfing buddies, bowling buddies, members of
my grandmother's Catholic Church, his Presbyterian church, his neighbors. They all said the same thing over and over...
"He always had time for me."
Time and again, whether to listen, or to organize, to
fix, or to build. No matter the project
or time or purpose, he made time. My
grandfather was not known for being cuddly, fuzzy, and sweet. But he was known for his love. Are we?
The youth you just sent to Costa Rica did you proud. They accomplished a lot, they built a lot,
but that's not what you should be most proud of them for. And it's not what I hope they bring back and
make a part of their lives and identities.
What should make your hearts burst with joy and pride is that they LOVED
on one another and on the families, the neighbors, the children of the places
we worked. Yes, they built two houses,
yes, they helped two extended families, orphans, and missionaries. They raised over $200 for the local YWAM
staff! But they loved everyone we
brought and everyone we met, and they loved them as he loved us. They loved 'em like Jesus.
It is that love, that identity they took on as
individuals and as a group… that represents my greatest hope for them. And for us.
IN a few short weeks, 6 seniors from that trip will head to college and
face an array of challenges, opportunities, and temptations. They will form new relationships and begin
new endeavors, explore new callings and experiences. I hope and pray they say and do as they did
on this trip, forging an identity based on love. That they will love 'em like Jesus and they
will be known as disciples by that love.
The other 16 kids will head to their high schools and face similar
challenges with the support of their families and us.
I challenge you to be a community that challenges them to
keep at it, to keep loving others as they have been loved. To love 'em like Jesus. To be a community that encourages them and
sets the example of kind words, merciful actions, daily kindness, acts of
service to those in need. Be the
families they need to be identified by their love.
In recent weeks, we have had a multitude of people come
to the church looking for assistance because our church is known to those in
need as a place of love. I challenge
each of you as families and individuals to be the same in the places you live
and work. Be known to others as people
who love. Glorify God in the powerfully
obvious and tangible way you love everyone who comes into your life, and by the
way you enter into the lives of others.
These youth have been an inspiring example to me this
week of Mission trip. I challenge you to
be an example to them, to partner with them, to walk beside them into a world
in need here in Salisbury. And love 'em
like Jesus.
Amen.
