John 13:31-35

John 13:31-35 
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  In the early 4th century, there was a plague in Caesarea, and everyone fled to the countryside to get away from it.  Well, everyone but many of the Christians.  They stuck around and cared for the poor, sick and dying. 
  It's not the only instance of Christians caring for the poor and the sick, the desperate that many others in society would leave behind.  After the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., it was designated that a hospital would be established in every town with a cathedral.  I even found something that noted that if the goods of the hospital are not sufficient for its expenses, [the superintendent] ought to collect all the time and from all Christians provision according to the ability of each.
  Christians are known for the ways we selflessly love one another.  Unfortunately, we often fail very publicly, and lately it seems like the world is often celebrating the way Christians fail.  (This is why it is so vitally important for the church to always retain a message of humility, even when we are at our best.  We are sinful and imperfect, and will never achieve perfection this side of heaven.  May we be transparent in our weaknesses!)  We cannot control how the world reacts, but we can control our decisions, and Christ is calling us to die to ourselves daily, to consistently opt to sacrificially love one another, at their best and their worst, and in so doing, we demonstrate the love of Christ, who chooses to love you and I, even when we are at our worst!