“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:35 HCSB  

Do you remember show and tell in school. I don’t know if that’s something they still do, but I can remember having show and tell. I think we did it once a week. In show and tell, we would bring something from home and we would show it to the class and tell them about it. It may be a favorite toy. I know that my niece once brought her dog. I have seen some kids have their mom bring in a baby brother or sister.

I wouldn’t have brought in a jack-in-the-box and sat there and described my favorite doll, right? If I brought in the jack-in-the-box, I would have talked about the jack-in-the-box. But as Christians our show and our tell doesn’t always match up. It’s like we bring in a Hot Wheels car and talk about a Barbie doll.

I want you to think for just a minute. Do your show and your tell match? Are you talking about Jesus and inviting friends to church but showing pride or hatred?

If we love the Lord, it should show and be evident in the way we treat others. It should be evident in the way we talk about and to others. Are you showing love and kindness? Are you speaking love and kindness? In our scripture passage today, Jesus is telling His us that those around us will know we are His disciples by the love we show to others. Jesus loves us unconditionally. This means that there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from His love (Romans 8:39). He will always love us. But, we have free will. We can choose to accept that love or we can reject it. If we accept that love, then we want to show that love to others. Even those that may be unlovable. If you think about it, Jesus showed you love when you were unlovable. He’s just asking you to do the same for others.

Romans 3:23 tells us we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We come to Jesus as filthy, rotten sinners. Before you judge that person that you love to hate, remember that you too sin on a daily basis. None of us are perfect.

I will admit that there have been times that I have had a hard time showing love to someone that I didn’t think was acting right. Either they were not treating someone that I cared about the way I thought they should or they weren’t treating me the way I thought they should. But then I thought about all the times that I had not treated Jesus as I should. All the times that I did not put Him front and center in my life.  I thought about all the times I grieved the Holy Spirit with my sin.

But what did Jesus do? He loved me. He loved me when I was unlovable. In our scripture passage, He commands me to do the same. He commands me to show others the kind of love He has shown me. He commands me to do this so that I can show the world that I put Him first. I can show the world that I love the Lord with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind (Matthew 22:37). I can show the world that I trust in Him completely.

When I am able to show the world the kind of love that Jesus has shown me, I am telling them that I have something that they simply must have. I have love. I am loved by my Lord and Savior. I am loved enough that He died on the cross for my sins. I can tell them, not only verbally but through my actions, that He died for them too. I can tell them that if they want to experience the peace and joy that I have found in Him, all they have to do is surrender to Him. All they have to do is love Him with all their heart, all their soul and all their mind.

How is your show and tell going these days? Is it matching up? Do you love the Lord? If you do, then you need to be sure that you always show and tell that to those around you.

Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t just tell us that He loved us, but showed us His great love by dying on the cross for us? He is not asking us to be crucified on the cross. But, He is asking us to pick up our cross and die to ourselves. He is asking us to put Him first. When we do this it shows. Everyone will know, by the love we have in our hearts, that we are following Him. If you love Him let it show. Tell others about this great love that you have found so that they too may experience it for themselves.

Have a great day!