The Mark

This is a snippet of something I recently read. It made me think of a few certain people who have found this call to be less trying than for the rest of us. Definitely a good thing for me to hear.

"At the close of his ministry, Jesus looks forward to his death on the cross, the open tomb and the ascension. Knowing that he is about to leave, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. It is here that he makes clear what will be the distinguishing mark of the Christian:

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall me know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13)

This passage reveals the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one era or in one locality but at all times and all places until Jesus returns.
Notice that what he says here is not a description of a fact. It is a command which includes a condition: 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, so ye love one another that all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' An if is involved. If you obey, you will wear the badge Christ gave. But since this is a command, it cannot be violated.
The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark."

- Francis Schaeffer