Failing To Love Each One Another
Do you try to love everyone at Western Hills? More than just being acquainted with them, loving them. You may think, “I don’t really know them well enough to actually love them,” or “There are just too many people here to know everyone.” But shouldn’t we try? Jesus said that the defining mark of our Christianity would be our love for one another (John 13.34, 35). Why do you think we are told so many times in scripture to love each other? Certainly, the numerous repetitions of the commandment identifies how important it is to God that we possess such love. Do we have trouble loving others? I believe it has a lot to do with how much we love ourselves. That view could go one of two ways. If you love yourself too much and if you are full of pride and selfishness, very few people will meet up to your expectations and you will be very critical of them. You fail to love them because of all the supposed imperfections you see; thus, they are not worthy of your love. We may not go that far, but we are very good at criticizing others and growing very intolerant of people who are not just like us. The other view of loving self is that we are happy and content with who we are as children of God. We are very loving people. Since I am content with myself, I more readily can see the good in others and share my love with them. What makes the difference? Doesn’t it depend on how close you are to God (James 4.8)? Or how much you have grown to be like Christ (I Peter 2.21)? Therein lies the problem, my love for others depends upon my love for God. How much you love others depends on how much you love God. May our love for God and for one another grow this week as we strive to walk faithfully before our God.
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