Love One Another

As we live in Christ we begin to see how His love shines through us. We see the compassion He has for the world as we the body reach out to those who are in need of Him. These days there is a lot of evil things happening, and it is easy to focus on them. As Christians we should not get caught up in all the negativity around us. That is what Satan wants us to focus on, but we need to be strong and not fall into that snare or over that stumbling block if you will. Matthew 7:1-5 says, 1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Folks before we spout off and say something harsh about someone else, lets be slow to speak and show the love in our hearts we have for Jesus Christ. Luke 6:45 says, "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." Many times you hear in the Christian circle people say, "God knows your heart, and that is really what He is concerned about, not our works." However it is not uncommon to hear some of these same folks gossip about how things make them so mad," and how "such and such deserved what they got," and "I hope such and such fall short of their goals." This is what Jesus was telling us not to be like. People who say these such things about people have not the love in their heart that they should. The NKJV says it like this, "...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." This is why it is important not to surround yourself with and focus on negativity.

There are times when you can't avoid being around a negative person such as at our job. It is important that we seek the Lord through out the work day, and always shift our focus on God's word. When I am trapped on a train with someone who is negative I always find things positive to shift the conversation. You see a Christian can always find something to be thankful for. When you learn to praise God regardless of the conditions, you release His power to take over the situation. It could be raining all around you, but from your view it is bright and sunny. Like He says in Psalm 91:7
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.

This also carries over into our personal relationships with our husbands and wives. If we treat our spouse with disrespect then we are disrespecting the one God gave us to walk through life with. This is why God dislikes divorce. Also this is why it is important not to rush into marriage. When we give up on our marriage God views it as disrespect to Him. Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman and God. It is sacred. When you break that covenant you disrespect the creator of that covenant. So before we get married we need to make sure that we pray and seek God's wisdom before we rush in on marriage. Fools rush in, so don't be a fool and be led by your emotions, because if it is not God ordained then you won't be happy. It is God's will for us to be happy in life not stressed. If you don't seek His will for your life but your own, then the outcome will be that you get your will and not His. But it is no different staying married and treating your spouse as your property instead of with love. Ephesians 5:21 says, "And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." In other words show your respect for Jesus Christ through your relationship with your spouse. Let His love shine through your love for one another. Others will notice if your disrespectful to your husband or wife, but they will also notice the love and respect you have for him/her too.

In closing, our relationships and attitude towards others is a direct indication of our own love for Jesus Christ. For out of the abundance of the heart our mouth speaks. Be conscious of what comes out of our mouth. Our bodies are supposed to be the temple, so don't let evil come out of the temple but let the love flow from your heart like living water (a river). To help us edify our walk in love we need to read our Bible and apply it to our lives daily. Faith is a way of life, not just lip service. We are to be examples of the love He has for us so let's all join together in love and tighten up and show the world that even though they may despise and hate us, we are going to love and bless them even more than ever!! Glory be to God!!

In Christ,

Eric R. Cox