1 John 2:10-11

"He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
1 John 2:10-11


A good thing to remember today.  When we hate other people, we darken ourselves.  We remove ourselves from God's influence, and we get lost and don't know where we're going.  Other people are part of our salvation... part of our success.  It isn't always easy to be patient and kind with people... to see people as our neighbors rather than rivals or enemies... to include people rather than excluding them, but part of our task in this life is to learn to love as God does... and he loves everyone.  The immensity of everyone is something to consider.  Even that "one" person that is always mean to us, or to someone we care about.  Even that foreign person, that immigrant, or that person that is ruining something for us.  Even that person that we just can't relate to or understand.  Let's think about it today... when God asks us to love our neighbors, there are no exceptions.
Today, as we navigate the relationships and attendant politics of whatever life has thrown at us, let's work on remembering that the most important thing is love.  Let's try to love, no matter whether other people are trying to love us or not.  Let's behave towards everyone as though we were encountering or communicating with Christ... that's how he wants us to live, and how he wants us to treat people.  Let's find a way.