I had quite an interesting—and frankly quite shocking—revelation the other day. I’ve always thought that as Christians, we are supposed to love one another and not judge or condemn. That it was God’s place to judge and that whenever we were judgmental, we were violating God’s intention for our relationships with each other.
Then I read 1 Corinthians 5:12, which reads in part, “it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.” (NLT). Ouch….
I picked up a card from the pile next to the guest book yesterday and was immediately struck by the image on the front: the sun hanging over the ocean, an intense orange glow reflecting on the waves and the clouds. But was it setting or rising? Considering that I was in line at a viewing, the obvious answer was that it was setting. But it was impossible to tell just from the picture, and it occurred to me that perhaps it was deliberately ambiguous.
Relationships are everything.
There is nothing in our life more important, more relevant, more useful than our relationships. Primary of course should be our relationship with God. But every relationship we have is essential to our existence. From our closest friends and family to the acquaintance we see occasionally at work to the person we say “hello” to on the street and never see again, how we interact with other people on this planet determines our lives.
Love doesn’t just happen…it’s not a feeling…it’s a choice, a commitment, something intentional. At least that’s what keeps getting drummed into me by our Pastor. God loves us—not because He feels like it, but because we’re His children and he chooses to love us. Even the most unlovable human is the object of God’s love.
So we’re supposed to love one another.
I have no problem loving the people I like. It’s loving the people who I can’t stand that is the struggle. But God doesn’t give out different amounts or qualities of love to different people, so I guess I’m not supposed to do that either.
