Thursday; October 30

What does it mean to love someone?  Here is where one answer does not fit all.  There is a special kind of love that I have for my wife that is unique and can only be shared between her and me.  There are other types of love that might be shared between close friends and family.  Then, there is another kind of love that is what is owed to humanity at large … and it is this kind of love that tends to get us tripped up.  The Bible in general and the New Testament, specially, calls on us to show love to mankind.  In verses like, “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” (James 2:8) we find a command that demands love – but what does that mean?  Interestingly, this decision is not as confusing as we often make it out to be.  In many cases, love is basically just welcoming people with good will and practicing respect.  It is simply showing that we care about one another as people and wish them well. 

Sometimes I wonder if we struggle with the idea to “love one another” because we misunderstand that the concept is more about acting nice than some deeper ulterior meaning.  What would happen – what could happen – if we just made kindness and respect the baseline for dealing with people?  It’s not all that hard – but it does take a purposeful mindset.

Would you like to make love a part of your life?  If so, don’t make it too hard – just treat people with the value and kindheartedness you would like to be treated. 

Think About It! 

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