"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"-John
This is a powerful verse! It is so simple, and so often missed. How in the world could Christians miss something so obvious? I’ve often wondered why there are so many denominations and churches. When I became a Christian in college I asked many “childlike questions.” Looking back twenty-five years, many of them I still ask today.
My church experience is vast. For the first eight years of my journey I sat under one of the best bible expositors of the past 100 years. I learned more Bible than many in a Christian college. I am grateful for this learning experience and have never questioned God’s sovereign choice in putting me at this church.
During this time, my head grew and grew, but my heart issues were not touched beyond the surface. There are many reasons for this. One of which was because all I ever did was a hang around college age students like myself. When the "old wise man" was all of twenty-four, there wasn’t a lot of life experience to draw on.
One afternoon I got a knock on the door. It was two Jehovah’s Witness. We spoke at length and being a church-goer, I invited them in. I loved the discussion. After they left I felt they were more committed to lies than I was the truth and decided to further my biblical understanding, so I went to enroll in Bible college.
Meeting with the dean of students, I was told to move forward after my college degree and attend seminary. So I did. I moved to
I experienced a lot of tension in seminary. Professors were asked to leave. The counseling program was closed. It was as though all my heroes were lost when I got too close.
After seminary I moved back to
With all this involvement, I didn’t really know people beneath the surface. The church was so large and active that sharing hurts, habits, and hang-ups was difficult.
I caught a bad cold and was absent from church for three weeks. No calls. Then another week went by. No calls. Then another. I received three calls once and that was it. After thirteen years in the church I got three calls.
Did I feel sorry for myself? You bet! I didn’t miss a church service in almost thirteen years, attended every Sunday morning and evening service, every Friday for Bible study and all the social events.
Three calls!
After church one Sunday evening I visited my parents. When I walked through the front door both my folks and their friends were sitting in the dining room enjoying conversation and eating snacks.
I felt alone. Was church just a series of sermons? Why did seeing my parents engaged in conversation with their friends speak to me so much and tap into a loneliness within? What was right about their evening together? What was wrong about my evening?
I felt all of these questions within a minute of walking through the front door!
I thought of this verse; "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"
I had knowledge of one another. I had knowledge of Paul, James, Peter, Timothy…but did I know love for one another? I knew so many people at church...but did I have love for one another? It was a humbling moment.
1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
I could outline 1 Corinthians 13, break down its syntax, apply proper hermeneutics to gain a clear understanding…but did I have love for one another? Did I experience love for one another?
Three calls!
With all the Bible knowledge, I had little wisdom. I was at a church that seemed to seek more knowledge. There is nothing wrong with gaining an understanding of Scripture, but that is NOT the goal! Learning music theory, odd time signatures, and memorizing complex pieces of music is NOT the goal…playing beautiful music is!
I’ve learned the measure of spiritual maturity is not a full head, but a full heart. We need both, but the greatest of these is love!
This was why I was so struck when I visited my parents. There was a sense of community. A sense of fellowship. A sense of relationship. It was knowledge applied! There was love for one another and it was contagious. I wanted it.
I the midst of doing church together, I need to not forget to love one another. There is a difference. I am grateful for those who understand this far greater than I ever will.
They are contagious!
-Joe Ventura
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