Today’s Devotional: “Love: The Great Authenticator”

Because love is life’s driving priority, Jesus has much to say about it. Today, we’ll see what Jesus said about how love shows the world that our faith is real.

He said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

In today’s marketplace, there are many knockoffs – that is, cut-rate manufacturers who make a living by replicating original product lines, even to the point of duplicating the original logo to make them look just like the original.

This is especially evident in clothing lines and ladies’ purses. People are walking around wearing and carrying Gucci knockoffs. They look like Gucci, but subtle design differences allow the deception to continue.

I remember a trip several of us took to Korea. We spent a day exploring and found ourselves at an outdoor market in Seoul. Several vendors sold pieces of clothing with the original manufacturer’s tag that you could iron on. So you could have the look without paying the price.

The same is true of faith in Jesus. Many people look like Christians, but they have the appearance without the cost. They belong to this or that religion or denomination, yet they lack love. They look good on the outside, but inside they’re still filled with dead men’s bones and all sorts of corruption (Matthew 23:27).

What separates the knockoffs from the real thing? When God looks for the mark of a true Christian, and when the world does, the mark is love.

The Apostle John said, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.” (1 John 4:20a)