“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. … Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”- 1 John 3:11, 15 New Living Translation
John has been emphasizing the fact that love should be the main motivator for all we do as children of God. For that the world will think us strange and keep us at a distance in many cases. The world speaks of love as if they understand its meaning, but there always seem to be strings attached to worldly love. Selflessness isn’t common in an ungodly world. “People who are morally upright expose and shame those who aren’t. If we live for God, the world will often hate us, because we make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living.”1
Life is filled with all sorts of personalities, some which are inviting and others that are not so inviting. We are called to love them all, at least those in God’s family. That can be much harder than you think, especially if they are abrasive, contrary or type A*. It could be said that we are to cut them all some major slack. It must also be said that we think we’re pretty normal; we’re blinded by our own definition of what normal is and therefore may be found to be difficult to associate with ourselves. Therefore, this is our challenge: love the unlovely and the lovely the same, whether inside or outside the family of God. Learn to look upon others as Christ would. He ignored no one. He greeted and treated all just the same, with the loan exception of those religious leaders, who were unforgiving, pompous pontificators of the OT Law with no mercy for their followers.
Hatred is such an ugly word. Even the words to define it are ugly … INTENSE animosity or hostility; INTENSE dislike or enmity. These are the traits of an enemy. For those who hate, they are against all that is loving, pure and holy. They cannot be a representative of God in any way, shape or form due to their hatred. If you have feelings of hatred toward anyone, Christian or non-Christian, stop it right now, for you cannot reside with the Lord in eternity with hatred in your heart. Hatred is a sin and sin cannot abide with God. See others thru Godly eyes. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.
* Defined as someone who displays some or all of the following traits: tenseness, impatience, aggressiveness, competitiveness, perfectionism and a sense of urgency.
1Study Notes from 1 John 3:11 in The Life Application Study Bible on page 2814.
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