Jesus made it clear to the disciples: you are to be known by your love.
Note that he didn’t say we would be known by our theology, our politics, our opinions, our anger, our success, or our popularity.
Surprisingly, he also didn’t say we would be known by our intelligence, connections, or wisdom (even the junkyard kind).
We are to be known by our love.
Over the last few months, as church buildings sat vacant, have we been known by our love? Is the conversation about reopening them — when, how, is it safe — a loving conversation?
A few years ago, I wrote an article titled Dear Pastors, Please Stop Posting Pictures Online. It struck a nerve and became the number one most visited post on this blog. The article asks pastors — and all church leaders — to stop posting pictures of their church services online. Doing so gives a false impression that “church” is an event, a party, a place.
I am not anti-service by any means (though I do sometimes cynically say church services often feel like a rock concert followed by a TED Talk these days). But I am against a church spending so much time, treasure, and talent on creating a weekend event instead of investing that same time, treasure, and talent into loving the community.
Anyway, all of this is to say that the debate about when churches should reopen seems irrelevant to me. It’s as if weekend meetings are all we do and all we care about. Is that what we want to be known by?
Here’s an idea: Let’s be known by our love.
Not our weekend events.
Not our music.
Not our teaching.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”