Have you ever had one of those moments where you’ve read how the Bible describes the habits, character, or disposition of a Christian and wondered, “Am I even a Christian?” I expect we all have from time-to-time. Alistair Begg considers the question in this little devotional on Luke 6:27 that is drawn from his book Truth for Life.

When you read the Bible and it describes Christianity, and then you look at yourself, do you ever wonder whether you’re a Christian at all? I know I do.
Neither our assurance as believers nor God’s love for us hinges on our ability to live out certain Christian principles; rather, both depend on what Christ has achieved for us on the cross. Even so, the Bible teaches us to look for evidences of our salvation in the present. If we truly are the Father’s children, we are bound to display a love for others that resembles Jesus’ love for us.
Jesus calls for us to love people in a way that is not related to their attractiveness, merit, or lovability. We know that this is exactly how God loves us—His love is not based on us cleaning up our act, deserving his attention, or demonstrating that we’re predisposed towards or useful to Him. None of these things contribute to God’s love for us. No—“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, emphasis added).
The greatest measure of our faith, then, is love—love that reflects the love that we have received in such abundance. We engage in agape love—unconditional, sacrificial love—because it is an expression of the character of God and all He’s done for us. We don’t exercise this kind of love for our enemies because we are blind to who they really are but because we have gazed at God’s love for us. Jesus says that when we see others as they are—in all of their ugliness and spitefulness, all of their cursing, all of their hatred, and all of their unwillingness to pay us what they owe us—we are to be realistic about all of it, and then love them. Seeing all of that enmity, says Jesus, I want you to love your enemies.
By nature, we are incapable of displaying such love. But consider the kind of difference we would make to our culture if we were prepared to live out, in both everyday and extraordinary ways, a Christlike love which seeks to do what’s best for those who have acted in enmity towards us. That would be revolutionary—without any question at all.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: What Jesus Sees Even When Others Do Not)
How An Attempted Car Theft Taught Me To Love Where I Live Even More
“Being a human is hard enough without the burden of not being able to trust other humans. Without the burden of not being able to trust locks. If the would-be robbers had genuinely needed something, they could have asked and I would have been willing to help, or at least try. But I don’t think they needed anything as much as they needed a new way of thinking about the world and the people around them.”
A Message to Intentionally Childless Millennials
I think this article proves why longform writing is so often more helpful than writing that has been sized for social media (and, even worse, for Twitter). Here Shane Morris explains a tweet he made expressing his concern for the many millennials who are deliberately choosing not to have children.
Where do we draw the line on hate speech?
Jason Thacker: “Christians, in particular, should affirm many of these guidelines because of our belief in the innate value and dignity of all people as created in God’s image and the freedom of conscience that flows from our understanding of the imago Dei (Gen. 1:26-28). But when hate speech is broadened to include speech that makes one feel uncomfortable or that one simply does not like, we have set a dangerous precedent for public discourse.”
What’s wrong with swearing?
Is there anything wrong with swearing? If so, what?
10 Important Personal Lessons I Learned From Adopting a Child with Special Needs
“I tell people that it was against my better judgment to say ‘yes’ to the adoption of our special needs daughter, Anah. Unlike the many kind-hearted and compassionate people who adopt for godly reasons, I adopted to alleviate my guilt and fear. You can do the right things with completely sinful motives, and I say that to make sure you don’t give me more credit than I am due.” Yet, as Vera Christian explains, the Lord has done such good things.
Encouragement for the Trials We Face
“There is a bright tomorrow coming when Christ returns. On that day, we will live in the world we’ve always longed for—a place of perfect joy, a home where hard times will never come again. In the meantime, it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). As we await an imperishable inheritance, we will be, for a little while, grieved by various trials (1 Peter 1:6). How should we think about the trials that are sure to come?”
Flashback: Gospel Weariness
Gospel weariness…stirs within us a holy longing to be done with this life and to enter into the life to come. It fixates on God’s promises, promises of deliverance, of restitution, of eternal peace…It is a weariness that cries with the saints of all the ages, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine. —D.L. Moody

Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals are all about Francis Schaeffer.
(Yesterday on the blog: What You Can Take With You Into Eternity)
The Case For Kids
Kevin DeYoung makes the case for kids. “The most significant thing happening in the world may very well be a thing that is not happening: Men and women are not having children. The biblical logic has been reversed, and the barren womb has said ‘Enough!’ (Prov. 30:16). The paradigmatic affliction of the Old Testament is now the great desire of nations. If ­Rachel wanted children more than life itself (Gen. 30:1), our generation seems to have concluded that nothing gets in the way of life more than children.”
Spirit of Light
“The Reformers placed tremendous stress on the gifts of the Spirit to the whole body of Christ. John Calvin himself has rightly been described by B.B. Warfield as ‘the theologian of the Holy Spirit.’ Yet Reformed Christians always have been given a ‘bad press’ for their views on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” But this should not be!
What Is Eastern Orthodoxy? A Reformed Perspective and Response
This article explains some of the key distinctions between Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
Are There Many Ways to God? Most “Evangelicals” Say Yes. (Video)
This video from Ligonier explains.
The Birth of Narnia and Why Tolkien Hated It
Here’s why Tolkien hated Narnia. “His criticism went beyond evaluation and suggestion to the level of insult.”
How Is the Trinity Vital for My Christian Life?
Danny Hyde explains why understanding the Trinity is vital for a healthy Christian life.
Flashback: What I Want From the News
It’s gotten so I almost hate the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but I’ve lost confidence that there’s as much as a single organization out there communicating it in a trustworthy way.

It is not hard to deceive ministers, relatives and friends. But it is impossible to deceive Christ. —J.C. Ryle