Loving other Christians is not something that is simply optional, preferable, or even ideal. Rather, the Bible bluntly asserts,
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20)
It is an impossible contradiction to be a believer who hates other believers. As hard as it can be to love our brothers and sisters (we all have different personalities, preferences, and sins), by His Spirit, God meets the demand of the command with His boundless stores of grace so that we can fulfil the royal law of love.
There are many benefits to loving each other this way. It fuels our worship and praise of God, it aids our prayers and supplications, and it enriches our life and fellowship together. But Jesus also taught that by loving one another, we show the world that we are His disciples. Our Christian identity is not something to be hidden in a dark corner or spoken in a barely audible whisper. In this sense, a Christian has no right to privacy. Who we are in Jesus Christ is to be made manifest to those around us.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Loving one another genuinely and affectionately in the daily and mundane routines of life is a powerful witness that cannot be contradicted or overcome. The world may not understand our love for each other, it may not appreciate the way we love each other, and it may not praise the love we have for one another. But as we love our brothers and sisters in word and deed, all will see and know, by this love, that we are disciples of Jesus Christ.
– KYLE BORG, adapted from Tabletalk Magazine, Oct 2019