The Litmus Test #church 01
What is the "litmus test" for being a follower of Jesus?
For our purposes, “litmus test” is used figuratively to refer to “any single factor that establishes the true character of something or causes it to be assigned to one category or another.” The question I’m asking today is, “What is the one definitive indicator that someone is a follower of Jesus?”
Jesus’ Church has answered this question a lot of different ways over the centuries:
- You’ve said the sinner’s prayer.
- You’ve been baptized (Christians killed each other over this one)
- You’ve gone through confirmation.
- A literal interpretation of the Bible.
- A particular perspective on the End-Times.
- Support for a particular political party.
- Your position on same-sex relationships.
- Your position on abortion rights.
- Your position on the role of women in the Church.
- Your position on slavery (Christians killed each other over this one, too.)
- How many people you evangelize in a given week.
- Signs and wonders - when was the last time you received a prophetic word?
- The kind of worship music your church community plays.
- The number of soup kitchens your church community runs.
- The denomination (or non-denomination) of your church community.
- And many, many, many more…
Lots of people who love Jesus have differing opinions about what the litmus test is for being a follower of Jesus. Let me clear this up right now: All these things I’ve listed are deeply important to the different tribes of Christianity, but NONE of them are the litmus test for knowing if someone is a follower of Jesus. In fact, when we make these things the litmus test, bad stuff happens (but that’s another post).
Fortunately, we don’t have to wonder. According to the gospel of John, on the night Jesus ends up being arrested, he washes his disciple’s feet, celebrates the Passover with them, and then he takes some time to give them some final words of wisdom. At the beginning of this discourse, Jesus gives his disciples, and us, the litmus test:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
The litmus test for being a follower of Jesus is this:
How well do you love your fellow follower of Jesus?
That’s it. That’s the test.
A lot of people come away from this saying that the test is how well you love everyone, but Jesus is very specific. “Everyone will know that you’re my disciples if you love one another.”
The litmus test is your love for your fellow follower of Jesus.
He’s casting a vision for a beautiful community where giving and receiving grace, peace, and forgiveness are normal and people work out their differences in open, loving, and honoring ways. His vision is that when this community is compared with the grasping, violent, and merciless communities of this world, that the difference following Jesus makes will be obvious. People will say, “I want to be a part of THAT community!”
What an extraordinary community he envisions!
Just to be clear: Jesus wants you to love everyone. This is evident in so many other passages (i.e. John 3:16). I believe the way you interact with people who wouldn't consider themselves followers of Jesus is an indicator of how deeply God's love is rooted in you. It's important: it's just not the litmus test Jesus gave us.
How are we doing?
It turns out, loving your fellow follower of Jesus is super hard. My wife and I were asked to leave our church community after fifteen years of faithful service on staff, because we were unable to work out our differences with our lead pastor in a healthy way. We’re not alone: I can name three pastors who’ve left the ministry in similar fashion in the past two years.
Christian community can be divisive. It has been since the beginning. Just check out Acts 15:36-41.
Maybe this is why Jesus made this the litmus test. He knew how hard it was going to be for us to get along.
How are you doing?
I’ve already confessed my shortcomings, and clearly I have room for growth. I’m betting we all do.
When you look at your life, how do you treat other followers of Jesus?
When you meet a follower of Jesus who believes differently than you, who emphasizes some aspect of their faith that isn’t that important to you, that’s really caught up in doing church a particular way - what happens in your heart? What do you say?
What do you tell others later on, when the person isn’t around anymore?
If you don’t like your answers, tell Jesus about it, and ask for forgiveness if you need to. Self-awareness is a gift.
What would happen if we all took this litmus test seriously and focused on ensuring that we love one another well?
I started this blog to explore God’s love through the many facets of my life, so this is just the beginning of this conversation. There’s more to come.
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