Above All Else, Love

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:11 (NIV)


In Matthew 22, Jesus teaches the Pharisees about the greatest commandment, and that of course is Love. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and our second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Although love is the greatest commandment we have, sometimes it can be the hardest. There are many people out there who can be hard to love at times. Paul must have been aware of this, he tells us to be patient and bearing one another in love.

I know I have come across many people who I found hard to love. Some at school, some at work, and believe it or not, some at church. There were times I would be serving at church and had such an unloving attitude toward someone else there. What did I gain? Absolutely nothing. It is so easy to see the faults in others and it is sometimes very tricky to see the faults in our own lives. The same people I may have had a hard time loving may have had an even harder time loving me.

I often have trouble opening up to people, especially at church. That is the exact opposite of what God has designed the church for. He has given us the church family to run to when things go wrong, to grow in Him, and to find encouragement. It is so easy to put up a front every Sunday and make everyone think your life is going great. It just seems simpler at times. It also can be very humbling to have to share all your problems with people you may have a hard time loving. I need to remember God hates pride.

I try to remember God has created us all different, how boring it would be if we were all the same. However, our indifference is usually followed with complications. And I also try to remember we may have no idea what could be going on in this person's life to make them so hard to love. If we can learn to humble ourselves and be patient and gentle, God will help us get past our differences and see the common bond we have in the Spirit. He will empower us to love them. There is no other being with more love in them than God. God is love. It is a command to not only love him but to love our neighbors. We are called to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. God has designed it that way for us.



Lord, help me to have a humble and gentle heart. Help me to see everyone as your creations and knowing you have purpose in placing them in my path. I pray that I will not make it difficult for others to love me.

Sarah Hostetler