And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. — 1 John 4:21

Some things are easy to understand. We can’t love God and hate each other at the same time. This is easy to figure out. On the other hand, some of our family in the Lord can be so hard to love that it’s hard to love them at all. But we need to remember that when Christ died for us, we were helpless, evil, sinful, and God’s enemies (Romans 5:6–11). But God still loved us and sent Jesus to save us. So before we complain about Christians who are “hard to live with,” we should be thankful that God loved us even when we were bad. Then we should thank God for his grace by loving each other more.

 

Thought

Some things are easy to understand. We can’t love God and hate each other at the same time. This is easy to figure out. On the other hand, some of our family in the Lord can be so hard to love that it’s hard to love them at all. But we need to remember that when Christ died for us, we were helpless, evil, sinful, and God’s enemies (Romans 5:6–11). But God still loved us and sent Jesus to save us. So before we complain about Christians who are “hard to live with,” we should be thankful that God loved us even when we were bad. Then we should thank God for his grace by loving each other more.

 

Prayer

Almighty God, please give me the strength, compassion, and courage to love my fellow Christians the way you have loved me. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.