Recognized by our Love

Written by Pastor Neddie Winters

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟓 NKJV "𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘔𝘦; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴, '𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦,' 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫."

𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓: "...𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴..." (John 13:34-35).

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:

When Jesus urged His disciples to "love one another," it was to be the characteristic by which His followers were to be known throughout all time. As members of the body of Christ, what sets us apart from others? What does it mean to be identified as a Christian? We are to love and love in such a way that there is no question who we are, whose we are, and who we represent. We are living billboards to reflect God's brand! The characteristic by which we must be represented is "Love" that Redeems, Reponds, and Reflects:

𝟏. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 (𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟑𝟒)

Redemptive love is love that seeks to restore, reclaim, and bring healing to what is broken or lost. It is sacrificial and proactive, taking the initiative to redeem someone or something from a state of despair, sin, or separation.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

John says in 1 John 3:10, "So now we can tell who children of God are, and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God's commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God." Without redemptive love, humanity remains in a state of spiritual separation and despair.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

John continues in 1 John 3:14, "If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead." And John continues: "He who loves his brother abides in the light... let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God." With redemptive love, relationships are restored, and lives are renewed.

𝟐. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

Responsive love is the outpouring of gratitude for the love we have received. It is expressed in our relationship with God and others. It arises as a response or reciprocation to love already given. It is a conscious and grateful acknowledgment of being loved, expressed through action, devotion, or worship.

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭

Responsive love leads us to love God wholeheartedly, acknowledging His grace. We love God because He first loved us. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭

Responsive love is also expressed in loving others as Christ has loved us. John 13:34. Our love should be abundant in giving of ourselves for the good of others. 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 1 John 3:16 We lay down our lives for one another as Christ laid down His life for us. 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 1 John 2:10, We think love, We speak love, and We act love, and 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 1 John 3:17, We must show our love by sharing our possessions with others. Acts 2:44-45 is our example.

John Wesley's rule for Christian living was just do it:

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

𝟑. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 (𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟑𝟓)

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 is a form of love that mirrors or responds to the love it has first received. It involves an awareness of being loved—often by God or others—and allowing that love to transform and flow outward. Reflective love acknowledges its source and seeks to emulate its character, often marked by selflessness, humility, and compassion. Reflective love mirrors the love of God in our relationships. It reveals God's character through our actions.

𝐀. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟕:𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟑

Reflective love creates unity in the body of Christ and is expressed in the communities we live in. "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:23)

We are called one body in Christ, reflecting God's love to the world (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

𝐁. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟑:𝟑𝟓

Reflective love serves as a witness to the transformative power of God's love.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

In 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟐:𝟒𝟐-𝟒𝟕, the early church reflected God's love through their unity and generosity, drawing others to Christ.

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍:

God's way is love's way. We must be recognized by our redemptive love (Initiates restoration), responsive love (Flows from reconciliation), and our reflective love (Mirrors God's reconciliation of the world).

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄: Where do you need to practice redemptive love? Who needs forgiveness and reconciliation in your life or the life of the church? In what ways will you exalt responsive love in your life? How will you reflect on the oneness and witness of love in your actions with others?

𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑: Father God, thank you for loving me with redemptive love— a love that redeems, responds, and reflects You in every aspect of You. I give myself to You today, go wherever You want to go, do whatever You want to do with me through me and for me, please use me today to 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, to forgive, restore, and make whole that which is broken, teach me to 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐥𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 in every circumstance and situation I find myself in. Lord help me to 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 love of oneness and witness of your love. Use me, Lord, as your vessel, voice, and vehicle in my home, my church, and my community in the name of Jesus, I pray Amen!!!