Love

John 15:12-13

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Love each other as I have loved you. A concept that here again we often overlook. So many Christians today are so eager to say that they in fact follow the teachings of Christ, yet they become hostile, and take on a posture of pretentiousness when they find someone that does not believe as they do. At that moment they are as far away from being with Christ as the man who has never heard of him.

We are instructed to love our neighbor as our we love ourselves (Mark 12:31) Jesus felt so strongly about this, that he said it was the second most important law. The only thing that carries more weight is loving God. That being said, why do so many feel so compelled to become hostile, and scornful when coming in contact with someone who believes differently, or does something that is not in line with that "Christians" beliefs?

Could anyone be so naive as to think that repeatedly kicking someone and yelling that they are wrong will produce a positive result? The only thing I ever felt when I saw a "Christian" making a case for God at the top of their lungs, was a felling of "I need to get away from that person", and why would anyone want to conform to a belief system that causes that much rage?

We need to all take a step back and take a look at ourselves, and how we handle that situation. We should have love for our neighbor. We should have hope, and offer encouragement. If we have made an honest effort and still have made no head way, then we should leave them alone. (Matthew 18:17). Notice it says to leave them alone, treat them as a pagan, or a tax collector. It does not give you the right to condemn them.

It take a tremendous amount of love to try and love one person as Christ loves us, let alone letting it flow out to all of those around us. It is our calling nonetheless. All one has to do is take a quick look around to see that there are many out there not even making the effort. At the mall, in traffic, dealing with loved ones; the overwhelming theme is me, me, me, me. In a world that touts self-service, and self-actualazation, it is hard to swim against the current, but if we are to be sucsessful, and portry the true love of Christ, we must try.

As I have stated before, we do not know God's plan for ourselves, let alone another person. It is not our place to try and take the role of God and condemn someone. We should try to show the way; but a person cannot see anything when they have been beaten down to the ground.

We should love each other as the Lord loves us. We should practice patience, and compassion, not judgment, and condemnation. We should work daily to be a living example of the Lord's love. I know what your thinking, it is too hard, or I just can't do it. I tell you the truth, if you try you will succeed, but you have to make the effort.

PeaceRev. T