John 13:35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.
Well, now…that verse is easier to read than to practice sometimes, isn’t it? Let’s face it; some people are just easier to love than others. Some folks are just downright difficult to be around and ‘liking’ them seems a herculean task, much less loving them! There are days the person looking back at us in the mirror isn’t so pleasant either. With some people/friends/family, we have to love them in spite of themselves. Maybe for you, I am one of those. We all have them in our lives.
How then do we love one another as instructed in this reference verse?
It is a choice. A conscious choice we make when we become aware that God, though not blind to our sins and failings, sees us through the eyes of His Son, Jesus Christ, and our shortcomings are blotted out by His blood. God IS love, yet He cannot tolerate sin. Jesus IS love and stands as our lawyer, counselor, our defender at our time of judgment. Love sent Love to redeem us because He loved us. Our choice is to accept that love or not. How can we accept it for ourselves and then not extend it to others?
Is it easy? Good grief, no! It wasn’t ‘easy’ for Jesus to endure torment and crucifixion on our behalf either but He did. He did to unify all Believers as one family, His Bride. Unity…can we stand in disharmony with others and still walk in unity?
John Maxwell said this about unity in the Christian community; Could it be that unity is the key to reaching the world for Christ? . . .
Nowhere, by the way, are we told to build unity. We are told simply to keep unity. From God’s perspective there is but “one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Unity does not need to be created; it simply needs to be protected.
Perhaps we can better protect unity when we strive to see
others more as Christ sees them. Scripture doesn’t toss things out there as
suggestions or considerations. Christians come in all flavors and colors and temperaments
and personality quirks. Our unifying trait is Jesus Christ and Him in us. It
blows my mind sometimes to think about that. As the song says, “We are family…”
If showing the love of Christ serves to bring others to the knowledge of Him,
then any effort or hardship or inconvenience on my part seems rather trivial
and petty!
My prayer for each of us is that we develop ‘eyes of Christ’
and see others as He sees them. None of us are all that delightful in the
natural but seeing people as Christ sees them washes them in the same redeeming
blood that covers us and it is beautiful!!!
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