"Let all that you do be done in Love"....
"Love your neighbor as yourself"...."The greatest of these is
Love". Seems easy enough,
right? I mean, I love people. I love being around people, I love doing
things for others, I love making people feel happy. I've got this! Or....
Perhaps not.
What about that girl that always looks at me with judgment
in her eyes? What about the man that is
condescending toward me? What about the teacher
that ignores me? What about the girl
that always makes me feel inferior? What about the boy that hurt my
friend? What about the boy that hurt me?
Do I love them?
It's easy to say, "yah! Of course I love them. After
all, I'm a good Christian girl, so I love everyone, because Jesus says to...." But when I really think about it, do I treat
them lovingly? Are my thoughts toward them gracious and kind? Do I speak of them lovingly? If I search the inner most parts of my heart,
I would have to answer honestly... No.
The sting of this realization is sharp, painful, and
shocking. Perhaps I'm not as kind as I
believe. Perhaps I only love some people....
The people that are loving to me in return, perhaps? Where is the love in that?! Where is the graciousness, the kindness, the
mercy, the blessing in that? Coming to
the realization of a dark, sinister, and hidden part of your heart that before
was subconscious is frightening. It's
terrifying. How could I be this person?
The person that is now displayed before me is not that of a woman who is
reflecting God's character. If I was
reflecting God's character at the most basic
level, then I would have to love. I would have to love.... everyone. Because God, although complex,
incomprehensible, and awe-inspiring, is at His most basic level, Love.
In Love, He created the world.
In Love, He allowed free-will. In
Love, He performed miracles. In Love, He
continuously saved His people. In Love,
He sent His Son to earth. And in Love,
God allowed His son to die for all of mankind, including me, so that we could
dwell throughout all of eternity in the wonderful bliss of His presence. If the very Son of God loved humanity enough
to die for all people past, present,
and future, how very arrogant of me to assume that I am above loving everyone
as He did. How absurd and prideful!
If I am to even begin to become a dim reflection of Christ,
then I have to start here... with Love. And
it's not a choice of whom I'll love,
it's a choice of whether I'll
love. There can be no middle
ground. I cannot have one foot in
godliness, and another in worldliness. I
cannot have one foot in love, and another in hate. It simply cannot be accomplished.... To love
one person, while still allowing hatred and disgust of another to remain in my
heart, would cancel out the love. I
would become stagnant and useless. Two
opposing factors cannot reside together and still thrive.
I must choose one....
Love my neighbor.... every neighbor....
or hate (not love) everyone. One option
is so difficult. Nearly impossible. The
other is pretty easy... But how do I want to live my life? What do I want to look like? Whom do
I want to look like? If I want to
reflect Christ, I must choose the impossibly difficult option...
Which will you choose?
