Love One Another
I’m a Christian. I regret that I almost have to apologize for that statement these days due to the bad name given to Christianity by right-wing bigots who want to use their faith as justification for discrimination.
So many people are turned off by “Religion” and religious people. People have been burned by churches and by church-goers. A friend of mine once said “I like Jesus. It’s his fan club that I have a problem with.”
If you ignore all of the right-wing stuff, though, and focus on what the Bible (particuarly the New Testament) says, you get a much clearer picture of what God actually is and what He wants for us.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)
Or if you prefer another way of looking at it, you can turn to Broadway:
To love another person is to see the face of God. – Les Miserables
If you want to know what God is all about, just think of love. I believe that God manifests Himself to us through love. Anytime we show our love to others, I believe that we are allowing ourself to be a vessel for the creator of the whole universe. The Bible simplifies it for us in 1 John 4:8, “God is love.”
This is why I have trouble understanding people who want to spend all of their time condemning other people in God’s name. Certainly, we don’t have to condone or accept the things of the world that we feel are “ungodly.” However, I don’t see many people who are converted these days because someone persecuted them.
I choose to spend as much of my energy as possible trying to do what Jesus Himself told me to do:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-25)
I wish that more members of His fan club would do the same thing.
Find related posts: “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
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About This Blog
In Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, the central character dies an early death. Emily is given the chance to revisit a day of her life and is advised by those in the afterlife to pick an ordinary day, warning her that she might be overcome otherwise. Still, Emily is overwhelmed with emotion as she recognizes how wonderful the everyday details of her existence were. Her daily routine takes on new significance now that it is gone. Through her tears, she asks:
Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it– every, every minute?
With this blog, I am trying to fully “realize” my life by documenting the things that I love. I want to appreciate and examine my past and present, as well as plan actively for the future.
I hope to accentuate the positive in my life and in the world around me, with the hope that by focusing on the positive, I will draw more positive elements into my life. Or, at least, realize all of the blessings that I do have.
Bob, the author of this blog, is a 36 year old husband, father, son, teacher, Christian, and liberal.
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Very well stated.
It’s interesting how some people clam up and get defensive when I tell them I follow Christ, as if they are expecting me to judge them. The best thing I can do is hope my example will teach others of the true nature of Christ and disregard those who choose to use Him to further their own agenda. It’s their controversy that gets them attention, and that attention that leaves an impression on people. The good news is, there is a momentum building toward true Christianity and rejection of political projections on Christ’s views.
Amen! When I first started blogging I began with a Christian blog. Since that time I feel as though God has led me to a different type of ministry. Since I have made the move to a ‘secular’ blogging format I have received some criticism from the Christian community. I must make it clear however, that many of my Christian readers from the ‘old’ days are still awesome supporters and encouragers at my new place. They have certainly demonstrated ‘love one another’ and I deeply respect each and every one of those individuals.I wish there were more of this type of Christian…they walk the walk and talk the talk.
WONDERFUL post, Bob!!!
To believe that you can perceive the real world is to believe that you can truly know yourself. When you do evolve to perceive the real world, you will recognize why you hesitated to believe it. At that time, everything you created in your mind will be instantly forgotten and will no longer matter. The end of the world as humans know it will not be the planet’s destruction, but its translation or re-interpretation into the form of Heaven. As long as you make the mistake of understanding what you perceive, its true meaning is lost to you.
I think you are absolutely right. I can’t escape the idea that the most important things we need to be doing are loving God and loving people.
I’m not a Christian, but I don’t have to be to believe in love, compassion, kindness, etc. You wrote, “I have trouble understanding people who want to spend all of their time condemning other people in God’s name.” It reminded me of a quote the other day: “You can tell people are making God in their own image when their God hates the same things they do.”
Thanks for writing this.
Jean Browman
Cheerful Monk
[...] made it sound like God was sort of pompous or selfish. I am more comfortable with the whole “God is love” thing. That’s easier for me. But the idea that God’s creation exists solely to [...]
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