“AND WE KNOW GOD IS LOVE, BUT… WHO DO YOU LOVE?”

By Temeka Atkinson

“Jesus said…”‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Hello fellow servants of Christ. I want to share some things that God has been placing on my heart regarding how we treat each other as human beings. From what I have observed currently, many people don’t even pretend to care about anyone besides themselves and those in their immediate circle of family and friends. We have become a culture of entitled and self-absorbed people. This behavior has become a norm in society now, not an outlier.

In the bible God expressively tells us that we are to love one another. He is so serious about how we treat each other as His creation that He placed the phrase “one another” in 59 different verses throughout as instruction to us.

God made man in His own image. The bible asks us, how do we say we love God and do not show any love or consideration for our fellow man?

If you think about it, we as a society are so busy now, and there are so many distractions vying for our attention. It is amazing to realize how many things we have going on in our lives that weren’t even a thing in society ten to fifteen years ago.

How do we look to the unbelievers? What does how we live tell them about God?

As living epistles, our lives should show forth the love of Christ to mankind. Jesus Himself gives the disciples a New commandment before He returned to Heaven, “..that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Truth be told, our actions or inaction speak louder than words to the unbeliever. That’s why the bible teaches us that God’s life was the light of men, and we as His children are supposed to let our light so shine so that people will see our good works. They should witness our behavior which should cause them to wonder what makes us counter cultural to current societal trends. They should see our patience, peace, kindness, maturity and calmness in the face of adversity and wonder what makes us so different. Then, we can literally point them to our Father in Heaven who made us ‘new’ and who can also make them ‘new’ creations in Christ.

New mindsets and value systems have been thrust on us by society. Do they control us, or does God’s instruction rule in our lives?

I, for one, have more access to media (traditional and social) resources than ever before, but have less of a desire to use them. I’m sure I’m not the only one. The good old days of our memories are gone in the traditional since, but the lessons learned and values taught don’t have to be. We are the keepers of the memories, values and morals. We should be teaching our children, grandchildren and others who didn’t grow up in the ‘olden’ times (insert your childhood and young adult years) what those values are.

Our society has moved away from a Christian mindset. Many feel that those ‘traditional’ standards are old-fashioned and have no place in our current society. The Christian values and morals that some of us were brought up on and that were previously celebrated in society still work and are sorely needed in the modern world. Characteristics such as: honesty, kindness, caring, love, compassion, benevolence, patience, peacefulness, faithfulness, and most importantly, reverence for God.

As sons and daughters, God wants us to examine ourselves so we are not ignorant to our mindsets and how we process the world around us. Some questions for us as Christs’ kids to ponder are:

1—How do we relate to others that don’t look like us, talk like us, or think like us? How do we relate to other people who don’t live near us or don’t have comparable education, employment, and resources as we do?

2— Are we knitting closer together as people in shared societies or farther apart?

3–How do we serve others apart from ourselves and our ‘circle or tribe’?

4–How may times have we mused over the way that our society has gone downhill? What needs have we identified that we can possibly assist with?

5–What do we think about the challenges happening in our homes, neighborhoods, communities, country, and the rest of the world?

6–Do you think our society has become more moral or less moral than during our Grandparents’ generation?

Phew…, some deep questions to be pondered for sure. But, we are up to the task of sitting with our thoughts and seeking God’s face in prayer and meditation so that we are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of our lives. With the help of our Father and the progressive work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His children, we will endeavor on in the faith. He who promised us is faithful. After having done all to stand, our great God is able to make us stand.

Remember, we as believers are to remain in the world and in society to share the good news of Jesus, but we have to be distinct from the non-believer in our actions, words and deeds in order to be effective witnesses for God in the earth.

Brothers and sisters, God has already demonstrated and modeled for us what true love looks like. So, let’s get back to love.

• The kind of love that God demonstrated during the original creation of the heavens and the earth.
• The kind of love He demonstrated when He created humankind and breathed His eternal breath into our mortal bodies of clay.
• The kind of love Jesus demonstrated on Cavalry’s cross as He suffered the shame and pain of crucifixion to make final atonement for mankind’s sins in order to build a bridge back for humanity to the Father in Heaven.
• The kind of love He demonstrated when He lovingly issued us the invitation of salvation, and once we accepted it, welcomed us back into fellowship with Him through the blood of Jesus in spite of our sinful pasts. Glory to the name of the LORD! The One who is, and was, and is to come!

Scriptural References for Reflection

Genesis 1:26-27

Mark 12:30-31

John 13:34-35

I John 4:20-21

Matthew 5:16

Dear Reader—

I pray this blog has been encouraging. Please know that the intention of this blog is to encourage you as we walk out our Christian faith together. It is not intended to replace God’s Holy Word, neither could it ever do so. The bible is the inspired Word of God lovingly given to us to teach, convict, correct, and instruct us in righteousness. God’s Word is living, active, and powerful. It will never pass away.

As your sister in Christ, I pray God’s continued blessings and covering over you and your family. May He strengthen you and give you peace as you journey.

Always His,

Temeka