The Evidence of the Holy Spirit is Found in What We Love

Scripture: I John 2:7-17

I still enjoy watching some of the old detective shows on TV Hallmark Channel:  Perry Mason, Columbo,  Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote, Monk and Matlock.  In each one of these shows these people had a way of looking at and for the evidence that solved the mystery of that crime and found the person or persons who were guilty.  Evidence could be found in something they saw or heard.  The logical way they assembled the evidence was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.  Monk was very good at the scene of the crime of seeing the evidence and he also was very good at reading people.  Detective Paul Drake helped Perry Mason gain the evidence in his cases that would show that Perry’s client was not guilty.  Angela Lansbury had a way of asking questions and looking at crime scenes that would produce the evidence that revealed the guilty person.

Do we people that hold membership in Christ’s Church show the people of the world that we are guided by God’s love revealed in the life of Jesus?  What is the evidence that the Holy Spirit has filled our lives with the power of love.

In our scripture today the evidence of love is found in our relationships with others.  “If anyone claims I am living in the light but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.  Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble because of who we are or what we do.”  What kind of love do you have for your Christian brothers and sisters?  The evidence of your love for others is found in what you do and how you treat them.  The evidence will also point to absence of our love for others.  In these fifty plus years as a minister some of the hard sad moments for me and for the church was when a person that claimed membership in Christ Church would attack another member because that person had not given their child the starring role in the Christmas program.  I have had members that were mad at the church for they had not, in their mind, been showered with praise for what they did.  One member wanted his name put on the thing he bought for the church so that he could be praised.  One mother of a spoiled child told me that I had made my first mistake for not letting her child do what he wanted to do.

The evidence of love is found in our care and love for others.  Our Scripture lesson also tells us the evidence of love is found in what we love.  John wrote, “Do not love this world nor the things if offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.  Some people think that the one who dies with the most tops wins.  These are not from the Father, but are from this world, and this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.  But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

John also wrote about the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s love in the life of us who believe and serve Jesus Christ.  It is evident when our sins have been forgiven through Jesus.  The evidence of the Holy Spirit’s love is found in us that are mature in faith. It shows in our worship, prayer, in our study of the word, in our service and in our giving.   The evidence of love is found in us because we know Christ existed from the beginning.  The evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit’s love is found when we have won the battle with evil.

The evidence is found in us because we know the Father and it is reflected by our faith in Him.  The evidence of the Holy Spirit is found in our faith because God’s word lives in our hearts. It is the Living Word.

In the cares of our lives, what do we love?  The Holy Spirits gift to you is the power to love the brothers and sisters in the faith.  The evidence of the Holy Spirit’s love is found in our love for the brothers and sisters in our church.  The evidence is of the Holy Spirit’s love is found in what we give and do for others in the name of Jesus.

Do our lives have real evidence of faith in Jesus Christ?