By Jill Krueger Wagner
An old song declared, “They will know we are Christians by
our love.” Unfortunately that is not the case today. Many Christians are known
more for their antagonism towards anyone who is different from them. That breaks
my heart.
A good portion of the New Testament addressed how God made
one people out of Jews and Gentiles yet today the challenge seems to be to make
one church of conservatives and liberals. It must break God’s heart to see
accusations thrown at His people from His people. I wish each one of us
would remember that Satan is the “accuser of the brethren” and when we accuse a
brother or sister we are taking a play from the devil’s playbook. He loves that.
Instead we should be living 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. This is a
favorite portion of the Bible for me. It was one of the Scriptures God used to
redeem my marriage by constantly asking me, “Are you loving Ray with 1 Corinthians 13 love yet?”
I wish before each of us posted on social media or spoke to
another Christian we would ask ourselves, does this evidence 1 Corinthians 13
love. Is it patient, kind, envious, boastful, proud, does it dishonor a
fellow Christian, is it self-seeking, easily angered, does it keep a record
of wrong. Does it delight in evil or rejoice with the truth. Does it protect,
trust, hope and persevere? Does it represent our loving God or our accusing
enemy?
“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the
Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well.” James 2:8
