What does/should John 13:35 look like to you?

[Nancy]

Say what you mean and mean what you say. That principle practised will make you stand out like a pimple on a ducks tail.

Lol! Amen, let our nay's and yays be one or the other,. That is being faithful to me ♥

 

[Nancy]

From an outsiders point of view I think they would expect a number of things in a church which espouses to love everybody. You will have a church filled to overflowing with all manner of people from all cultures, languages, and backgrounds. There will be representatives from all age groups, and all income brackets. They will all mix and mingle with one another without prejudice or judgement. Young will freely mix with an elderly person as easily as with one his/her own age. The poor, the disabled, the new immigrant, the politician, and the scholar should all equally be on good terms, be caring for and caring about one another, without resentment or favoritism. If God is no respecter of persons, (in other words not putting anyone on a pedestal or chopping the legs out from anyone who gains attention) [which we call tall-poppy syndrome in NZ] then neither should His people.
That to my mind is love demonstrated, and the kind of church/group/fellowship we should be revealing to visitors. All the time.

Ah, if only...
"tall-poppy syndrome" <---- Hahaha...how did that come about...at least the "poppy" part?

 

[Helen]

Finally I made it to here!! lol

A bit late to the party @Nancy ...been a bit busy for a couple of days.

Well, maybe someone has already said it...but it doesn't look anything like a "Christian" Forum We are not a good example of loving each other. Tolerate the ones we find harsh and 'ugly', yes, ....but do we 'love' all? No.

But I would qualify that by saying..
.....if ANY of the ones that I personally find prickly , were to ask for help from the Body...I am sure our love for that brother or sister would take over quickly, and we would jump in quickly to help however we could.

We cannot 'love' by our own strength. I don't believe that anything that God asks of us , or has ever asked of His people can be done in our own strength.
"God is love" and any love we have for anyone is an expression of Him...even before we knew Him...He is the only true fount of love that there is.
The more time we spend with Him, the more we will reflect His nature.
( Now what that says for the harsh and ugly, I am not sure! )

 

[Nancy]

Finally I made it to here!! lol

A bit late to the party @Nancy ...been a bit busy for a couple of days.

Well, maybe someone has already said it...but it doesn't look anything like a "Christian" Forum We are not a good example of loving each other. Tolerate the ones we find harsh and 'ugly', yes, ....but do we 'love' all? No.

But I would qualify that by saying..
.....if ANY of the ones that I personally find prickly , were to ask for help from the Body...I am sure our love for that brother or sister would take over quickly, and we would jump in quickly to help however we could.

We cannot 'love' by our own strength. I don't believe that anything that God asks of us , or has ever asked of His people can be done in our own strength.
"God is love" and any love we have for anyone is an expression of Him...even before we knew Him...He is the only true fount of love that there is.
The more time we spend with Him, the more we will reflect His nature.
( Now what that says for the harsh and ugly, I am not sure! )

Well, awesome reply. Yes, I suppose "tolerate" is a good description for some, lol. Loving ALL of our brothers and sisters is not easy in the flesh, that is for sure. ♥