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Start With Kindness
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One of the commands of the people of God throughout the Bible is love. In fact, when Jesus was asked to boil down all the teachings of the Law and Prophets:
Matthew 22:35–40 (ESV)
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
And as your read the Bible, you find how much these two commands come up again and again. What I find so interesting about this is how most Christian people seem to skip over love. Love is held as an ideal. Love is held as a virtue. Yet, love is not one of the first words that comes to mind when the word "Christian" is heard by the world. In fact, love is not one of the first words that comes to mind when Christians hear the word "Christian."
I was in a local supermarket a couple of weeks back, of which there was a Christian Homeschool National Basketball Championship going on. There were Christian people everywhere. I can tell you of a group in particular that I thought wasn't just lacking in love, they weren't even kind. In fact, that experience took me back to my days at Ruby Tuesday's where many people viewed worked Sunday as a demotion. I myself, follower of Jesus, would not work Sundays because I couldn't stand the way Christian people treated others around them. Define Christian however you want to, but I'm talking about those who make it obvious that they are continually around the activity of Jesus and yet lack one of the main characteristics. Love.
Therefore, I've found myself saying again and again, forget love, we need to start with kindness. Love is a command of God. "Love God. Love Others." It seems that since we can't get the command, we mine as well start somewhere (call it progressive sanctification).
If you're lacking in love, start with kindness. But you should really go after love. It's a lot more fun on this side.
Matthew 22:35–40 (ESV)
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
And as your read the Bible, you find how much these two commands come up again and again. What I find so interesting about this is how most Christian people seem to skip over love. Love is held as an ideal. Love is held as a virtue. Yet, love is not one of the first words that comes to mind when the word "Christian" is heard by the world. In fact, love is not one of the first words that comes to mind when Christians hear the word "Christian."
I was in a local supermarket a couple of weeks back, of which there was a Christian Homeschool National Basketball Championship going on. There were Christian people everywhere. I can tell you of a group in particular that I thought wasn't just lacking in love, they weren't even kind. In fact, that experience took me back to my days at Ruby Tuesday's where many people viewed worked Sunday as a demotion. I myself, follower of Jesus, would not work Sundays because I couldn't stand the way Christian people treated others around them. Define Christian however you want to, but I'm talking about those who make it obvious that they are continually around the activity of Jesus and yet lack one of the main characteristics. Love.
Therefore, I've found myself saying again and again, forget love, we need to start with kindness. Love is a command of God. "Love God. Love Others." It seems that since we can't get the command, we mine as well start somewhere (call it progressive sanctification).
If you're lacking in love, start with kindness. But you should really go after love. It's a lot more fun on this side.
