“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 John 5:3-5 NLT
Here lies the truth of mankind’s inability to love each other. John has systematically closed the door on all other avenues by which man can logically make an excuse for his lack of love toward his fellow believer. Now he attacks the emotional assault on Christian love. For those that think that it’s “just too hard,” John challenges their perception again. He notes that the victory of our love is ensured by our faith. Comparatively, how can it be too hard? Jesus died on a cross for our sins, and he did this before we loved him. Can we really throw our hands up in exhaustion because the person sitting in the pew next to us makes us mildly uncomfortable for a few minutes at our Sunday gatherings? The emotional ease of entitled Christian’s is not only uncalled for, it is a lie. Christians are not entitled to convenient interactions. Frankly, God’s love isn’t cultivated within them. If our primary concern is the gospel, then how can we claim that it is to burdensome to be shared or lived? All it takes on our part is faith that all victories are already won in Christ. This includes the petty debates of everyday living, that have no cosmic significance, yet we are willing to kill our brothers over. This becomes a litmus test for our faith. Do we really believe Jesus is the son of God? Than why don’t we act like in it our relationships? Perhaps we don’t let him be the Lord of anything except what is convenient. I fear that when judgement day comes, many will learn that this is not what faith in Christ entails. Pray for each other and be tenderhearted.
this post first appeared on JoshMcGary.com
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