President’s Post: Distinguishing Mark of a true Champion for Christ

What is the most distinguishing mark of a true Champion for Christ? First and foremost, it must be a love for the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that this is the first and greatest of all commandments given to us in Scripture. 

When the Pharisees tried to stump Jesus concerning the greatest commandment, he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But Jesus also said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40).

At Liberty University, it is my highest priority that our students know the Lord Jesus Christ. It is also why our university education model has a gospel emphasis so that every student has an opportunity to hear the good news of salvation and receive Christ as Savior. You cannot be a Champion for Christ without first knowing Christ.

But we also know the love of Jesus Christ is not an isolated love. That love is also demonstrated in our love for one another. One of the most important things that Jesus taught us is how to love one another.

This is something Jesus taught his disciples in the upper room on the night of his betrayal, just before he was to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. On that night, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, and he told his disciples that one of them would betray him. Peter spoke up boldly, insisting that he would never deny Christ, and Jesus shocked Peter with the news that he would deny him three times.

That night, Jesus told his disciples something he had never told them before. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

This raises an important question. Are you a Champion for the love of Jesus Christ? John wrote about the love of God and fellow believers more than any other apostle. In his first epistle, John said, “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). He also said, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (4:20).

The true mark of a Champion for Christ is an undeniable love for Christ and for others. It is because we have received the love of Christ that we can risk sharing that love with others. The love of Jesus Christ gives us bold assurance and freedom to love sacrificially, even laying down our lives for the sake of others.

But that love is not natural. That is a love that we must receive first before we can share it with others. I pray that all of our Liberty University students will experience and know the love of Jesus Christ.

How can we have confidence? John also answers that question: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). 

Have you made a decision for Christ? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? I want to encourage you to do that today.

I am so thankful for our Liberty students. They are future Champions for Christ. I want each of you to know that I love you and am praying for you. I want God’s best for your life. I hope that you will commit your life to Christ and share the love of Christ with others.

Prevo is the Interim President of Liberty University