May It Look Like Love

The introductions we make every day

Introductions

A couple of weeks ago, I was preparing to introduce panelists for an upcoming clergy workshop.

And it turns out, introductions take more thought than you’d think.

You don’t just list credentials.
You don’t read a résumé.
You decide what really matters.

What do people need to know first?
What gets at the essence of who this person really is?
What will help them listen to this person?

And then a quiet question surfaced in me:

If I had to introduce Jesus — not from a creed, not from a theology class — but as someone I know… What would I say?

Meeting Jesus

Most of us didn’t meet Jesus on our own.

Someone introduced him to us.

Maybe it was a parent or grandparent. A Sunday School teacher. A pastor. A youth group leader. A friend who invited you to church. A hymn that caught in your throat. A song on the radio that named something holy. A crisis moment when you went looking for help.

And even if you wouldn’t call yourself “religious,” if you live in today’s culture, you know something about Jesus. You’ve heard his name. You’ve heard someone quote “love your neighbor.” You’ve watched people argue about what he would or wouldn’t approve of.

In one of the gospel stories (Matthew 17), Jesus takes a few close friends up a mountain. For a brief moment, they see him clearly. Radiant. Undeniably himself. And a voice says:

“This is my beloved Son… listen to him.”

There’s no long explanation.
Just an introduction.

This is him.
Pay attention.

So, whether you are a church-goer, a doubter, a seeker, or spiritual-but-not-religious, how would you introduce Jesus?

You met him somehow.
You came to understand who he is to you — through someone, through something, through a season of your life.

How would you introduce him?

Here’s the part that matters:

Whether we realize it or not, if you’re a Jesus follower, you are introducing him all the time. We introduce him:

• When we make room for someone who feels out of place.

• When we treat our LGBTQ+ siblings with dignity, respect, and genuine care.

• When we stay curious about cultures, traditions, and stories different from our own.

• When we choose understanding over easy assumptions.

• When we listen carefully — especially in moments of disagreement.

• When we handle change with steadiness instead of fear.

• When we practice justice quietly and consistently.

• When we choose compassion over sarcasm.

• When we stay present in someone else’s pain.

• When we forgive — even when it is really hard.

If someone watched your life for a week, what introduction would they hear?

So here’s the gentle invitation:

If someone asked you, “Who is Jesus to you?”
What would you say?

And if no one asked —
What would your life say anyway?

Every day, in ways small and unseen,
we are introducing something to the world.

May it look like love.

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A Simple Prayer

God of quiet clarity,

Help us see clearly —
and then live gently.

Where our tone has hardened, soften us.
Where our courage has thinned, steady us.
Where our love has narrowed, widen us.

Let what we say and what we do
reflect your heart.

And may the introductions we make
look like love.

Amen.

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A Song to Carry With You

Only Jesus by Casting Crowns

A quiet reminder that what lasts isn’t our résumé — it’s the love we reflect.
May the life we live point gently and clearly to Jesus.