…And they’ll know we are Christians, by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love (Peter Scholtes). Would they know you are Christian by your love? I often ask myself that question. I hope the answer is yes…not yes, sometimes…when I’m not hungry, tired, or driving my car, but yes – always. That’s a tall order, but it’s something that should always be at the forefront of our minds, always present in our thoughts. By the things I do and say; by the way I treat others; through gestures, expressions, the tone of my voice, would they know? Can they tell? Is it obvious, without being forced, fake or over the top? It’s not just how I appear outwardly. I may go to Mass regularly, receive the sacraments faithfully, but do I love? St. Paul says: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13.1-3
Like I said, it’s a tall order, but it is what we are called to do, to live, to be. How can we live this love we are called to? Well, for starters, let’s look at the world, and each individual in it, positively. Negativity is an unhealthy practice. If those around us are negative, constantly grumbling, we could leave them to it and find more positive people with whom to associate…or, we could try to lift them up and out of their grumbling. Point out those things they could be happy about, try to steer them away from all that’s wrong with the world, with their lives. Another way to show love is to show gratitude, daily. If our attitude is positive, gratitude will come very easily to us. If our attitude is positive, we will enhance the lives of those around us and they may go on to do the same for others – like dropping a pebble in a pond, the ripple effect will go on and on and on, and then, yes, ‘See how they love one another,’ people will say.
Over the years, in a file on my computer, I have been compiling a list of quotes that hit me when I first read them. This one, by St. Francis of Assisi, is one to commit to memory: You may be the only Gospel your neighbor ever reads. Make it a good and loving read, so that they will know.
