The true mark of a Christian is love. Jesus Christ Himself said:

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another. John 13:35.

Again, He indicated that all righteousness is summarized in two commandments, both of which have to do with love – love to God and love to our fellowmen:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40.

One will recognize that the Ten Commandments are simply an expanded version of the same concept – the first four commandments briefly describe love to God and the last six commandments describe love to our fellowmen. Speaking of the last six of the Ten Commandments the apostle Paul said:

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8 -10.

Love to our fellowmen is the single most observable evidence of righteousness as we are further told:

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 1. John 4:20.

The thought is further reinforced by the apostle John in the following words:

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. 1. John 3:14.

Love Your Enemies

The love that is spoken of here applies not just to our friends but to our enemies as well. Jesus said:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48.

Jesus is not asking us to do anything different from what He did. Jesus Christ loved His enemies. In fact He gave His life for us (humanity) when we were enemies.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:8-10.

SERIES: Are you harmless?

PART ONE: Mark of True Christianity
PART 2: Forgive them because they do not know any better
PART 3: Love is harmless
PART 4: For Peace Sake
PART 5: True Christians are harmless
PART 6: Following Jesus