Do you remember doing a litmus test in chemistry when you were back in high school?
According to Wikipedia, “Litmus is a water-soluble mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens, especially Roccella tinctoria. It is often absorbed onto filter paper to produce one of the oldest forms of PH indicator , used to test materials for acidity.”
A Litmus Test has become more of a euphemism in modern culture as an indication of what the true nature of something is. It is a crucial and revealing test in which there is one decisive factor. For example, what is the litmus test for being a Christian? What is the one thing we must demonstrate as true followers of Jesus?
I gotta go with Love for 100 Alex.
I am sure it’s no surprise to any of you that love is the litmus test, but what does that really mean? Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments. He then said that we need to love one another as He has loved us. He also said that He gives us a new commandment, to love one another.
I was thinking about this the other week when a man in our house group talked about ripping some old carpet out of a condo he and his wife had recently purchased. They were renoing it before they moved in: new paint and new flooring. I love this guy. He is a good man. We get along well and I respect him for who he is and what he does.
So, what would loving God and this man look like in this situation? Helping him rip out his carpet of course. But that’s inconvenient and uncomfortable. I could pull a muscle or something. I don’t have much free time and I probably need to spend more time with my wife. I’m too old for this, and he is 10 years older than me. He should hire someone to do this, that’s what people in our demographic do. We’re not in our 20’s anymore…
Blah, blah, blah. Suck it up princess.
So I went over with another friend and we ripped up carpet and underlay for a couple of hours. The more I thought about this while I worked, the more I realized that love is an action word. Love is about doing. It’s not about nice warm feelings and happy thoughts. It has more to do with rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in people’s lives. And, it is oftentimes messy, uncomfortable and inconvenient.
I am not really very good at that, but I am learning. I have people around me who are very good at it and they serve as great examples for me.
So what does it mean to love others? Well, in I Corinthians 13:4-8 we learn that love is patient and kind, isn’t envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered, it forgives, hopes, perseveres, trusts, never fails and it doesn’t delight in evil. So how do we love God? I think we try to love others according to the outline in 1 Corinthians 13.
How about you? How do you love God? How do you love others? Are you patient, kind and forgiving to others? Are you humble, and content with who you are and what you have? Are you self-centered or others-centered? Do you keep your temper in check and work through the tough stuff choosing to trust and choosing grace for others?
I don’t think there is any way we can do this in our own strength – we need to become new creations in Christ. Thank God that is precisely what He does by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
This love is not simply our best efforts, or empty actions attempting to do our duty as Christians. No, this must is a wholehearted, God-breathed love that only comes as we declare our inability to love the way we are called to love and cry out in desperation for the Holy Spirit to work in and through us for the benefit of others.
Yes, by loving others we will demonstrate that we love Him. Our willingness to love others is definitely the litmus test of God’s love in us – and then through us to others.
“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.”
1 Peter 4:8-10
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Romans 12:10
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”