Can people see that you are a Christian? If you have a cross necklace and a T-shirt that reads, “Jesus loves you!” you might think you are doing pretty well in letting people know you are a Christian. You may have had a cross tattooed onto your forearm. Surely, a permanent mark on your skin is 24/7 proof you are a Christian. On the tattoo front, you may want to read Leviticus 19:28 and then discuss it with God.

You are reading well if you can read sarcasm in the above paragraph. An article of clothing, jewelry, or even a tattoo are not indicators of a Christian’s love for Christ.

What are the visible signs of a person’s love for Christ? There are more, but here are seven that are paramount. 

We will start with Psalm 42:2, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

The Christian will desire to be with God. How can we be with God? The Bible speaks of three primary ways: prayer, Bible study, and death. 

When Christians pray, they “come boldly unto the throne of grace,” standing before God. When we pray, we stand in the presence of Almighty God, pouring out our hearts. Prayer is serious, not haphazard (Hebrews 4:16).

Just as prayer is us talking to God, Bible study is God speaking to us. As we study Scripture, we learn of God’s personality, motives, goals, plans for the future, and plans for us individually. The wealth of knowledge about God in His Word is unmeasurable.

Death is something a Christian should not seek, but it is something we should look forward to. God coming to get us, particularly in the rapture, but also in death, is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13, Philippians 1:21).

Prayer and Bible study are ways to commune with God; the Christian’s heart should be filled with these desires.

The second sign of a person’s love for God is that we cannot find contentment in anything without Him. From the mundane to the glorious, a Christian’s heart will find no joy when God is not in it. Proverbs 15:16, “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.”

Desiring God’s presence and the inability to find contentment without Him brings us to number three. He who loves God hates anything that separates him from God. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). This hatred of sin is directed mainly toward the sin we commit ourselves but also includes the sins around us in the world. Psalm 119:128, “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”

We are moving on to number four, which is sympathy. By sympathy, I mean we are sympathetic toward God; we grieve when He grieves. 

God sheds tears when people sin. Psalm 119:136, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.” 

It grieves The Holy Spirit when ungodly things are in a Christian’s heart. Ephesians 4:30-31, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”

Another thing that grieves God is the coming judgment for those who reject Him. In Luke 19:41-44 Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem because He knew what was coming because of the city’s rejection of the Messiah. Every Christian’s heart should ache; we should shed tears because we see people going to hell every day because they reject the Saviour.

This last sentence brings us to number five: those who love God desire that others will love Him, too.

John, chapter four, tells the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. To sum up the story, the woman was a known sinner. Other people would not socialize with her because of her actions. She had to go to the well in the heat of the day instead of early in the morning with the other women when it was cooler. Jesus starts talking to her about her sin and reveals He is the Saviour. She places her faith in Him and receives salvation. She immediately runs into town to tell people about Jesus. 

It is only human nature to talk about the things we love. Do we love God enough to talk about Him to that neighbor we should be crying over?

Mary Magdalene says something that brings us to number six. At Jesus’ tomb, angels ask her why she is crying. Her answer is in John 20:13, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” A sign of our love for Jesus is the distress we encounter when we think He is absent. The first time I had to work on a Sunday after my salvation, I went outside on my lunch break, sat under a tree, and cried my eyes out. My heart yearned to be in God’s house, but I was not. Many Christians prefer the pleasures of the world on Sunday over the house of God. If you do not want to go to someone’s home, how much love can you have for them?

We have reached number seven. Those who love Christ are willing to suffer for Him. Paul, who was about to have his head chopped off because of his stance for Christ, said he was “ready.” People will die for their country. People are willing to die defending their families. People will step into harm’s way to protect their property. But how many love God enough to suffer for Him if the need arises?

We should never forget the suffering He went through for us. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Christian, how did you do? How many of the seven ways to show that you love God can you honestly say are in your heart and life?

Preacher Johnson is the Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.