By Our Love

For King & Country perform “By Our Love,” the song built on the 1960s hymn “They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love,” also called “We Are One in the Spirit.” Peter Scholtes wrote the original in 1966, and the brothers keep its message while giving it a modern sound. The opening lines are familiar: “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity may one day be restored.”

The refrain, “They'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,” is joined by echoing “love, love” voices. The verses give three concrete commitments, to “walk with each other, walk hand in hand,” to “spread the news that God is in our land,” and to “work with each other, work side by side.” The last of these adds, “We'll guard each other's dignity and save each other's pride.” The song makes Christian identity something others can observe through behavior, rather than a claim made in words.

Jesus gave this mark in John 13:35. Keeping unity of the Spirit is Ephesians 4:3, and the goodness of brothers dwelling together is Psalm 133:1.