Tuesday, April 24, 2018

 

Christianity at times can be extremely complicated. There’s a list of things we are in favor of and then there’s a large list of things that we are opposed to. And as if that were not complicated enough, there’s an even bigger list of different Christian denominations and each of them has a different list of things you can and cannot do. Who has the right list? Like I said Christianity can be extremely complicated. The interesting thing is that Christianity is not supposed to be complicated, it’s supposed to be so simple that even little children understand it.

 

After spending some three years living day in and day out with the twelve disciples, Jesus called a time-out knowing that his time on this earth was coming to its end. He was about to give them some important instruction on what to do once he was gone. He told his disciples that one of them was about to betray him, and he singled out Judas as the one who would do so. Then He continued to point out Peter as the one who would deny him, not once, not twice but three times. As if that were not complicated enough he told them that all of this was a prelude to his death. It’s within this context that Jesus gave them the following instructions:

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35 NIV

 

I must admit that because something is simple it doesn’t mean that it’s easy. You see it’s easier to create a complicated list of religious beliefs than it is to have to love some people. Jesus’ command to his disciples was a simple one: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” It may be simple but honestly it’s not easy. Not easy because Jesus was saying, I know that Judas will betray me, I know that Peter will deny me and I also know that all of you will abandon me but none of that is a reason for me to stop loving you guys. Now I want you to love each other the same way.

 

Think about this for a minute. We live in a very special time in history. I say this because there has never been more access to Christian teachings and theology as there is today. You can listen to teachings 24 hours a day on your television, on your computer, in your car and wherever you are on your cell phone or tablet. Now think about this, with all that information you would think that this generation would be more receptive to Christianity, but it’s actually the opposite. We live in a generation that is not only unreceptive to Christianity but also strongly opposes it.

 

Can you imagine what would happen if we as Christians preached less and loved more? What if our preaching’s were preceded by acts of kindness and love? What if instead of opposing people or groups of people based on their behaviors and lifestyles we simple chose to love them just the way Jesus chose to love Judas, Peter, and all of the disciples in spite of their behaviors and lifestyles? I’m not a genius but I know what would happen. Do you?

 

It’s simple, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

 

Heavenly Father, at times it is easier for me to live my life based upon teachings and doctrines that I don’t fully understand or keep. The hard thing is to love people the same way you loved Judas, Peter and all of the disciples. What is hard is to love others the same way that you have loved me. Lord help me to express your love to others the same way Jesus expressed his love to all of us. Help me to serve generously those that are easy to love and those who are difficult to love.