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By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
(John 13:35)
Scriptures to explore: John 13:13-17; Luke 2:17-18; Luke 23:55-24:10; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-39
Before loving Christ and our heavenly Father, we had no knowledge of Jesus' disciples, either past or present. We had no interest in who they were or how they lived and spread the message of Christ. We had no love for those who lived and died as people of faith. Our self-love kept us far from Christ's disciples, who are offering us the word of life.
Before we develop a love for Jesus, we typically cross paths with his disciples. They may be co-workers or neighbors. Perhaps they are friends or family members. We might be with them at school or in a shared interest. It is possible that we encounter disciples through a book, movie, or song. Somehow, somewhere, we encounter his disciples. We may recognize some but not others. Our encounters may be direct or indirect. As our paths cross we see or hear something that catches our attention. We notice something different in their character. Though we may not be able to put our finger on what it is, we sense something uncommon. Coming to know Jesus often begins with encountering his disciples. This is typically the first step towards Christian maturity. Rejecting his disciples can keep people from discovering Christ himself for what we do to them we are doing to him (Acts 9:1-5; Matthew 10:40; Luke 10:16). However the gospel may eventually capture us, there is no escaping that to know and love Jesus includes encounters with his disciples.
When we first encounter Christ's disciples, we may be turned off by them. Something about them bothers us, but we cannot specifically say why. We are blind to the reality of spiritual warfare. Maybe we are uneasy around them or taken back by them. We might think they are "religious" or "holier than thou". Whatever the reason, and though we cannot name it, we are repelled by Jesus and his disciples. When we start to mature, we realize that it really had nothing to do with them, but something spiritual that was going on within us. Nevertheless, during this period we cannot truly hear the disciples or the gospel as we are uncomfortable around them and avoid them. We are blind and resistant.
Being drawn by God's Spirit we begin to hear and accept the message through the disciples and find ourselves drawn to them. For some this is turned around in that when we accept his disciples we are then able to hear their message. Either way, we begin accepting his disciples, and through them we come to know Christ. It is in receiving Christ that we can truly accept his disciples. We meet his disciples in the Scriptures, and interact with present day disciples with all their flaws and issues. As we grow in our love of Christ, we also learn to appreciate his disciples. Our love for Jesus' disciples is growing.
As we grow in Christ we are changed from resisting his disciples to desiring fellowship with them. We increasingly want to spend time with the people of God. We find ourselves praying for them and helping in their times of need. We also find them praying for and helping us grow in Christ. In the past we did not freely give our time, our finances, or ourselves as a blessing to others. But now we find that is exactly what we are offering to Christ by assisting his disciples (Matthew 25:35-45). We enjoy their company, and share in each other's' struggles (Acts 2:42-45). Sometimes fellowship takes place in the open as we gather together. Other times fellowship occurs when we help someone privately or anonymously. However it happens, we notice that we engage in fellowship with an increasing frequency, and find our hearts increasing in love for his disciples.
There is an important truth about Jesus' disciples that we must keep in mind; they are human beings. As we grow in our knowledge and love of Christ, there is a risk of focusing on his disciples rather than on Christ. We risk putting our confidence in people rather than God, or turning away from God because of people. If we focus on his disciples rather than Christ, we can develop a distorted view of them. When they do or say things that do not match our expectations, we may become disenchanted. Some people have turned away from Christ and his church as a result. Others may think trusting God is hard if we are focused more on another disciple who may be wrestling with some issues. However, if we remember that disciples are human beings and we stay focused on Christ, then such situations become opportunities to offer grace to those who disappoint us. They can be opportunities to reach out to people who have been hurt by Christ's followers as we put the focus back on Christ where it belongs. We may even find ourselves being further transformed as we wrestle with our expectations and disappointments in light of Christ. On our journey towards Christian maturity we need to accept that Christians are human beings. We need to make the choice to focus on Christ and not them. In reading the Gospel accounts of Christ, we discover that all of his disciples ran away (Mark 14:50) on the night he was betrayed by one of his disciples (Mark 14:43-46). He was denied by Peter, the one who seemed to have the most confidence and boldness (Mark 14:29-30, Mark 14:66-72). Learning to love like Jesus loves means we continue to love even in times of disappointment or worse, betrayed or harmed. That kind of response is only possible when we are in Christ. When we face challenging issues with other disciples and respond in love, we know that the Holy Spirit is bearing fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23).
Perhaps the biggest hurdle in loving Jesus' disciples is accepting the humanity of Christ's followers and the reality of this fallen world (Romans 3:23; Galatians 1:4), then extending grace to his followers. Such an embrace marks a significant transition in our maturity. Along the way we may get stung by some disciples and be hurt. In all likelihood, we will be disappointed more times than we can imagine. But since we are aware of ourselves and what we have done to others, even to Christ himself, we realize that we are no different from other disciples. We have hurt others without intending to do so. We have let people down and have not always done what they expected from followers of Christ. These things happen without our intending to harm anyone. We are human beings in a fallen world and we share life with other human beings in this same fallen world. By the grace of God we do not run away and hide or turn away from Jesus' disciples. Instead, we rally around them and embrace them. We look to restore his disciples just as Christ did for the one who had denied him and the others who had deserted him (John 21:15-17). Though they had ran off or claimed they never knew him, Jesus went to them, restored them, encouraged them, and gave them the Great Commission of spreading the gospel and making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). When we love his disciples like Jesus did (John 13:34), we know that Christ-like love has replaced our formerly self-centeredness love. As a result we are able to embrace his disciples and love like him.
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