Don’t you just love it when someone opens a conversation with, “Now, don’t take this personally?” Of course there is little chance you will take what they say any other way. Not only that, now all sorts of sirens, red flags, and fireworks are going off in your heart and mind. Whatever this person is about to say is going to be exaggerated within your psyche and a perfectly good day is about to be ruined. We humans like to play these mind games, don’t we?
Thank God, He does not play games at all, mind or any other kind. He always speaks truth. He always loves holy and wholly.
And He always deals with us personally. He is not some distant god or force that checks in on earth’s inhabitants every couple centuries or so. Neither is He a galactic Santa Clause just waiting to give us everything we want once He checks whether we’ve been naughty or nice. He’s not my dad who said one thing, but modeled something else. He’s not your dad who abandoned the family or wished he could abandon you. He is Jehovah!
God does not fit in our myriad of boxes we try to cram Him in. The whole universe cannot contain Him! And yet, He personally lives within each of his children (Holy Spirit) in rich and deep fellowship. How sad He must be when we glibly pass over His Love Letter to us and refuse to apply His infinite wisdom to our lives.
He doesn’t want us to face sin’s consequences. He doesn’t want us to live in hate and bitterness. He doesn’t want us to live in disunity. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. However, He will not force us to love Him or each other.
Recently I read a plaque which stated, “The only book where the author shows up every time you read it. The Bible.” I think another plaque could read, “The only book where the readers don’t always show up even when they read the words. The Bible.”
God wants us to know Him personally (salvation), He wants us to fellowship with Him personally (justification), and he wants us to obey Him personally (sanctification). God wants us to take Him at His Word and take His Word personally.
John 13:34-35 is not just for our pastor and his wife. It is not just for the deacons and elders in our church. It is not just for the cantankerous old man who snores two pews behind us. And it is not just for our spouse and kids. It is a personal commandment for us. It is a personal way of life for us. It is a personal ability for us. It is a personal result for us. God is talking to you and me.
We must take this personally, and that is exactly what we are going to do.
We are going to peer into the lives of two of the most difficult one anothers we are commanded to love. You know the ones I mean…those brothers and sisters in Christ who just drive us crazy or bring tears to our eyes more often than laughter to our soul. It is hard to love fellow believers who frustrate us at every church meeting or block every ministry we try to initiate or hurt our best friend one too many times.
We all have difficult one anothers, and if we are honest, we will admit we can be one of the difficult one anothers at least now and then. So as we pull back the curtain on these difficult one anothers, let’s look at ourselves first and take care of our log before we focus on the twig of someone else. Only then can we learn how to love in spite of all the difficult ones.
One Another Living 