We love, because He first loved us.

⁵ Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. (Romans 15

Relationships are the most important thing we are a part of in this life.  This is especially true in our families and in the Body of Christ.  One of the greatest tragedies I have ever been a part of and still experience in the Body of Christ is the refusal of others to accept one another and love one another as Christ loves and accepts us.  We all have short-comings, weaknesses and areas in which we struggle.  But “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6)  Jesus didn’t wait for us to get our acts together before He died for us.  He didn’t wait until we kept all the Law, He knew we couldn’t.  It breaks my heart to see people in the Body of Christ, tearing each other apart sometimes.  I literally cringe inside when I see how people talk to each other at church sometimes.  Don’t we remember the words of Jesus, “‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40).  When we treat each other with contempt in the Body, we are treating Jesus this way.  Jesus final exhortation to His disciples was an encouragement to “love one another, as I have loved you.”

Dearest children of God, my own beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, I plead with you to tread with caution in how you speak to and about one another.  Scripture encourages us in how we are to interact with one another.  Please listen to the Words of God on this most Holy matter.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; ¹¹ not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, ¹³ contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. ¹⁷ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12)

If the World is not seeing Jesus, we must look to ourselves, and the way we interact and treat one another, as perhaps a big part of the cause.  Here is what God’s Word says,

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

God’s love is perfected in us by our learning to love one another.  This is what God has chosen to use to sharpen and polish us…loving one another.  Precious Ones, if we are filled with contempt and murmuring toward one another, how can God’s love truly grow in us?  If we are preoccupied with our own opinions and ideas, how does that advance the Kingdom of God and promote Unity?  Let us love one another as Christ has loved us, and we will find the Love of God being perfected in and through us, and the world will see Jesus through our love for one another.

We love, because He first loved us.