By This Shall All Men Know

By what are you known?

No great life story was ever written without trial, yet the measure of those who belong to Christ is not merely that they endure hardship, but how they endure it. Not merely that they stand, but how they stand.

Christ gave a clear answer to what should distinguish His followers:

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Not by the sharpness of our arguments. Not by the strictness of our standards. Not by the distance we keep from those who stumble or disagree.

But by love.

Nothing more. Nothing else.

The world understands conviction. It understands strong opinions and moral standards. It understands drawing lines and separating from those who differ. What it does not understand is a love that says:

"Despite what you have done, and despite what you believe, I will not walk away."

That kind of love is foreign to the world because it is divine.

The love that marks us as Christ’s is not transactional. It does not fluctuate with another’s behavior or withdraw when someone fails. It remains steady and patient, reflecting the mercy Christ has shown us.

While we were yet sinners, Christ loved us–not after we improved and not after we proved ourselves. If grace was not withheld from us, by what authority do we withhold it from others–especially those for whom our love ought to draw people to Christ?

Now, pause. It is easy to err. To “swing the pendulum” to the opposite side. Love must not be confused with indulgence. True love does not celebrate brokenness or abandon truth for comfort. Divine love sees imperfection clearly but chooses to love anyway. It does not excuse weakness into permanence; it invites transformation. It binds truth and mercy together and seeks not merely to tolerate, but to redeem.

Modern Christianity has too often become known primarily for its standards

When people think of Christians, they often think first of the beliefs we defend and the rules we uphold. In many ways, this resembles the error of the Pharisees, who were known for standards while neglecting the heart of God.

How curious it is that we lavish grace on David — a man “after God’s own heart,” a hero of the Bible — even though he was a murderer, a cheater, an adulterer. And yet, we have no patience for our brothers and sisters who disagree with us over trivial matters.

Wasn't Jesus known for spending time with tax collectors and sinners? Was He not accused of being a glutton and a drunkard? Yet so much energy is expended into ensuring that others see perfection, careful never to associate with anyone who might tarnish our image or our “testimony”.

The world already has standards. Everyone has beliefs. These alone do not distinguish the followers of Christ.

Love does.

Not ordinary love, but a love so steady and unnatural that it cannot be explained except by God.

It is striking that Christ said we would be known by our love for one another. Loving strangers at a distance is easy; loving those closest to us is difficult. Familiarity exposes faults. Disagreements become unavoidable. Yet it is precisely here that Christian love is meant to be visible.

The world understands loving from afar. It does not understand a love that remains even through disagreement – a love that still desires fellowship despite imperfection.

So the question remains:

If you were to die today, would those around you know you were a Christian?

And if so, why?

By what are you known?

Because by this — and by this alone — shall men know that we are His:

that we have love one to another.