PROVE IT?

1 John 3:11-24
11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. . . . 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. . . . 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. . . . 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. . . . 23 And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. 24 Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.


Every year, 40 million children come into this world with no formal proof of their existence. Most of them are from developing countries where many people are not officially registered at birth.

But just because they don't have a birth certificate doesn't mean they aren't alive. It only means that they can't produce an official document to prove it.

When was the last time someone challenged you to prove that you're a Christian? "You're kidding yourself by saying you know God is in your life," a skeptic might say. "There's no way you can be absolutely sure." Sometimes the demand for proof comes from a fellow believer who declares that unless you can name the time and place you accepted Christ as your Savior, you're not really "born again."

But the apostle John put the issue in perspective by saying that belief and behavior are two sides of the same coin, and they witness to our faith in Jesus Christ.

HEADS: "This is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ." TAILS: "And to love one another as He commanded us" (1 John 3:23).

When doubts about your relationship with God come in, ponder these words of John: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers" (v.14). "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence" (v.19). "And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us" (v.24).

The next time someone challenges you to prove that you're a Christian, why not smile and say, "I can't prove it." Then set out to demonstrate it John's way. When we love others with the love of Jesus, the recipients rarely demand proof of our existence. --Dave McCasland

DESTINATION POINTS

* How do I respond to people who ask how I can be sure I'm a Christian?
* Why might it be troubling for some professing Christians to use their behavior as an indication of their faith? What about me?
* I will write down the name of one person who is skeptical about my faith, and I'll ask God for an opportunity to love that person today.

bottom line: Love speaks louder than argument.

soul journey