Love: The Ultimate Public Display Of Religion

When and where I grew up (as well as in the family that raised me) public displays of religion were not necessarily encouraged.  Sure, we were expected to be seen walking into the church building every time the doors were opened, but things like wearing religious jewelry, taking a Bible to school or publicly praying over a meal were things we didn’t do.  I am sure that every family and each person had a reason for the choices that were made, but ours was based on the negative example of the Pharisees whose religion was more for show than for spirit.   As I fast-forward through the last five decades I have come to see “religious displays” in a more favorable light.  Today, when religious expressions seem to be based more on genuine faith than showiness, maybe it is time we start displaying our religious nature in public.  No, praying over a meal in a restaurant or reading the Bible in the breakroom is not necessarily a sign of deep spirituality, but it does tell our neighbors something about who we are.
A public display of religion may be one way to show our commitment to Christ, but it isn’t the only way.  Interestingly, when Jesus was teaching His disciples about a renewed focus on godliness He advocated one core characteristic – love.  The Apostle John, who was sitting in the same room when Jesus commanded, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35), would go on to write, “We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.” (I John 4:19-21).  There is absolutely nothing wrong in public demonstrations of our religion, but if we are going to be pleasing to God and visible to the world we have to show people that we love them.   Demonstrating love can appear to be a nebulous concept, but it really isn’t all that complex.  When we stop what we are doing to help someone in trouble, when we console the grieving, when we focus on the needs (and words) of those who are less fortunate, when we forgive, when we provide encouragement rather than criticism, when we pray for (and with) our community, when we hug a crying child or a mourning grandma we show love.  By donating funds to those impacted by tragedy, supporting those devastated by evil and providing hope to those who are depressed we “love one another”. 
The modern world needs to see our holiness – not through a spirit of arrogance but through a commitment to God.  Let’s stand out to the world by how we carry ourselves and in how we love one another.

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