“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 ESV

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
Romans 13:8 ESV

My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.
1 John 3:18

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:17-18 ESV

When Christians get together and discuss the state of the world and how it relates to them, the conversation often turns to the general decline in standards of conduct and the increase of sinful behavior. We can probably agree that it’s easier than ever to step across the line when the other side is just a click away, but anyone questioning the growing absence of a moral compass may be judged as being unfairly restrictive of freedom of expression. Consider the way today’s world views and interacts with Christians. While many locations around the globe range from being restrictive to downright dangerous for Christ-followers, even countries with a Christian tradition are finding ways to marginalize them. So it’s no surprise that the church finds itself trying to choose someplace between adopting a foxhole mentality of drawing away from the world to the point we risk losing touch with our communities to becoming just another political group vying for its own special interests. Just how are we to be the salt of the earth? I’m convinced we must love each other desperately, sacrificing for each other while at the same time standing out as a beacon of light for our communities, and not just the parts of our communities easiest to love.

Love isn’t easy,
not as Jesus commanded.
And it wasn’t just the Pharisees
our Lord reprimanded.

In our age love ranges
from dear to trivial,
from life-giving
to simply convivial.

But to impact our world
nearly enough,
beyond our judgement,
they must know us
by our love.

© Joel Tipple 7/27/2019