And They'll Know We are Christians by Our... Hate?

When I was in college, my church group sang this song a lot. If you've never heard it, it has been performed beautifully by Jars of Clay.

We are One in The Spirit,

We are One in The Lord.

We are One in The Spirit,

We are One in The Lord.

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

And they'll know we are Christians by our love,

By our Love,

Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other,

We will work side by side.

We will work with each other,

We will work side by side.

And we'll guard each man's dignity

And save each man's pride.

We will walk with each other,

We will walk hand in hand.

We will walk with each other,

We will walk hand in hand.

And together we'll spread the News

that God is in our land.

But how true is it? Are Christians today "known by our love?" When I think of Christians in the media, here's what comes to mind for me:

• Picketing funerals,
• Burning holy books of other faiths,
• Gloating over natural disasters,
• Squabbling about evolution vs. Creationism,
• Condemning gay marriage,
• Judging the poor and/or unemployed as unworthy.

Um... I'm not feelin' the love here. None of this brings to mind anything like love. In fact, Christians today are known for our HATE. Is that really what we want?

Christians, reread 1 Corinthians 13. The first sentence, in case you've forgotten, is: 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.

I want to give credit where credit is due: This song was written by Peter Scholtes with additional words and music by Carolyn Arends

Peace, Love, Unity