Saturday, June 1, 2013

Love Is Everything

  
      Over the past year because of certain beliefs I now hold (and speaking negatively about commonly held Christian beliefs and worldly institutions), I have at times been labeled as "anti-fill in the blank". Anti-American, anti-military, anti-war, anti-conservative, anti-tradition, anti-Republican, anti-organized religion, etc. However, I want to make it clear that I am not ANTI or AGAINST anyone, rather I am FOR love...and love makes me FOR everyone.

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." (Col 3:14)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16) 

"This is my command, that you love one another." (John 15:12)

     Above all desirable attributes or traits, mindsets or dispositions, we are called to put on love. I'm not talking about the good-feeling, warm and fuzzy, smoochy-smoochy, sexual love. As we can see above, the Scripture defines love as Jesus laying down his life for us, his enemies, and the ones nailing him on the cross. We are called to this kind of love. Jesus taught us to "love our enemies"  and to "do good to those that hurt you". He said that all of God's law could be summed up by loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If I must be willing to lay down my life for enemies, then I can't kill them. If I love everyone, then supporting one government over another, one race, tribe, or people group over another is not possible. If I love everyone then I cannot support war and the death of others. If I take Jesus at his word--that following God is as simple as loving God and others--then religion (a system of rules, regulations, and rituals for getting right with God) is another thing I cannot support. Love is the one all-encompassing command. Get it right and everything else will fall into place. Get it wrong and nothing else you do matters. 

 "For in Christ Jesus…the only thing that counts is
faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6)