John 13:35 - By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another...
Wherever we go we see groups of people distinguished and set apart by their uniforms and ID's. Policemen, Firemen, Military personnel, McDonald's employees, athletes, etc. Most people who are functioning in an official capacity dress in such a way or wear something that alerts others of who they are. And while functioning in that official capacity, there are certain behaviors that these employees are expected to adhere to. You will probably never see a high ranking military official going to a massage parlor in a seedy part of town? Why? Because that kind of activity would be conduct unbecoming of an officer. Officers are expected to conduct themselves in a certain way while in uniform.
Have you ever seen a Police Officer in uniform at a theme park? Probably not. Why? Because when the officer takes his family to Disneyland, he's considered off duty which simply means that he is not available for service to the public. When he takes his uniform off, he becomes "one of us" and we have no way of distinguishing him as an officer. In fact, a police officer could be standing right next to you and you would never know it (especially if it's one of those undercover dudes).
What would you think if you went to Open House at your child's school and were introduced to a teacher who couldn't put a sentence together, couldn't read and didn't know simple addition and subtraction? You would probably think there was something seriously wrong with this picture. All of the identifying factors that would lead you believe that you were dealing with a teacher are missing. The person may carry the title, but the title means nothing when the perifinalia associated with someone capable of holding the position of teacher are missing.
As Christians we also wear uniforms and carry badges. Our identifying marker is love. And what's different about our uniform is that we strive never to take it off. Just as a reasonable person would question the position of the teacher above, when we leave the house in the morning without our uniform of love, we open ourselves up for others to question who we are and who we work for.
Bitterness, strife, foul language, anger...all of these are conduct that could cause others to have second thoughts about who we are. We may be saying all the right things to associate ourselves with the "Christian" organization, but our uniform is spotted, stained and torn.
So exactly what does our uniform look like? The bible says that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast and isn't proud. It's not rude or self seeking. It's not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, it always trusts, it always hopes, and it always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 1-8 NIV). From reading the above scriptures, I can tell you that there have been plenty of mornings that I've left home without my uniform, however I wear it more now than I did last year so I'm making strides in the right direction.
I want to encourage you to boldly wear your uniform daily with pride. Let the love of God engulf you wherever you go. Let it become your trademark with your co-workers, friends and relatives.
Pray this prayer with me...
Father, I thank you for giving me the honor of wearing your badge of love. I pray that people will see Jesus Christ today in my words, in my actions and in my deeds. I pray that when I walk into a room people would be compelled to stop and take notice, not because of me but because of your anointing which is working in, on, around and through me. I thank you that your power is working 27/7/365 to minister love to those whom I come into contact with. In Jesus Name....
Wherever we go we see groups of people distinguished and set apart by their uniforms and ID's. Policemen, Firemen, Military personnel, McDonald's employees, athletes, etc. Most people who are functioning in an official capacity dress in such a way or wear something that alerts others of who they are. And while functioning in that official capacity, there are certain behaviors that these employees are expected to adhere to. You will probably never see a high ranking military official going to a massage parlor in a seedy part of town? Why? Because that kind of activity would be conduct unbecoming of an officer. Officers are expected to conduct themselves in a certain way while in uniform.
Have you ever seen a Police Officer in uniform at a theme park? Probably not. Why? Because when the officer takes his family to Disneyland, he's considered off duty which simply means that he is not available for service to the public. When he takes his uniform off, he becomes "one of us" and we have no way of distinguishing him as an officer. In fact, a police officer could be standing right next to you and you would never know it (especially if it's one of those undercover dudes).
What would you think if you went to Open House at your child's school and were introduced to a teacher who couldn't put a sentence together, couldn't read and didn't know simple addition and subtraction? You would probably think there was something seriously wrong with this picture. All of the identifying factors that would lead you believe that you were dealing with a teacher are missing. The person may carry the title, but the title means nothing when the perifinalia associated with someone capable of holding the position of teacher are missing.
As Christians we also wear uniforms and carry badges. Our identifying marker is love. And what's different about our uniform is that we strive never to take it off. Just as a reasonable person would question the position of the teacher above, when we leave the house in the morning without our uniform of love, we open ourselves up for others to question who we are and who we work for.
Bitterness, strife, foul language, anger...all of these are conduct that could cause others to have second thoughts about who we are. We may be saying all the right things to associate ourselves with the "Christian" organization, but our uniform is spotted, stained and torn.
So exactly what does our uniform look like? The bible says that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast and isn't proud. It's not rude or self seeking. It's not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, it always trusts, it always hopes, and it always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 1-8 NIV). From reading the above scriptures, I can tell you that there have been plenty of mornings that I've left home without my uniform, however I wear it more now than I did last year so I'm making strides in the right direction.
I want to encourage you to boldly wear your uniform daily with pride. Let the love of God engulf you wherever you go. Let it become your trademark with your co-workers, friends and relatives.
Pray this prayer with me...
Father, I thank you for giving me the honor of wearing your badge of love. I pray that people will see Jesus Christ today in my words, in my actions and in my deeds. I pray that when I walk into a room people would be compelled to stop and take notice, not because of me but because of your anointing which is working in, on, around and through me. I thank you that your power is working 27/7/365 to minister love to those whom I come into contact with. In Jesus Name....
Source...