“No one has ever seen God ;but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:12
That is a pretty daunting statement if you think about it. It means that some people’s only chance to see the God’s love exists will be through me, the one wearing the little gold cross around my neck and the fish decal on my car. But even if I didn’t have those signs to mark me as Christ’s own, I have the Holy Spirit in me as a beacon. People would still know. But will they know I am “Christian by my love”? (As the old song says).
We just had some missionaries from Japan stay with us and they said one of the main stumbling blocks for the Japanese is that they consider the USA as a Christian nation, yet they also see we are arrogant and selfish in nature, we have horrible crime and corruption in our country and we do not honor our elderly. They see the hypocrisy. President Obama recently questioned if we are a Christian nation. We are only when those of us who proclaim Christ act and pray and love like He taught us. As Joyce Meyer says so often, “sitting in Church does not make me a Christian anymore than sitting in my garage would make me a car”. Amen, Joyce. Being an American does not make me a Christian, either. Only accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior does. The best way to show I am a Christian is by my love – to not concentrate on others and not on myself, so His Spirit that I have accepted in my heart can shine through.
Heavenly Father, may this cross I wear be a reminder to me that I am your ambassador in this foreign land called earth. In all I say and think and do today, let me glorify you and not myself. Let Your Holy Spirit be my guide so Your love may shine forth and draw others in to You through me. This is my humble prayer that I offer through your Son who lives and reigns with You and in me. Amen.
“For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, he cannot love God whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
1 John 4: 20-21
