Can we not love?

"Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses' Teachings?" Jesus answered him, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' All of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40)

It's about relationship with Him and with each other.

So why do we mess it up so bad?

Why do say we love Him yet ignore someone from another denomination? How can we say we love Him yet insist if someone doesn't practice communion or baptism the same way we do they must not be part of the body? How can we say we love Him yet walk by the homeless man on the street with nary a glance? Or ignore our kids? Our spouse?

Jesus wasn't kidding here. He said we are to love. L-O-V-E. Yet ask most non-believers what they think of when they here the word Christian and love is the last thing they will say. You'll hear judgmental, hypocrite, protests, intolerant, etc. Hardly will you here the word love.

Sad.

Why is that? How come God can so love the world that He gave His Son yet we can't seem to love enough to share a coffee with someone from another church?

How come Jesus can love us enough to die for us yet we can't cross the street to help a neighbour in need?

Oh not everyone does that. Quite a few people I know love and love completely. Yet even in my own life I find it hard to love when I have just been cursed at by an inebriated man. I find it hard to love someone who insists on keeping the letter of the law while ignoring the heart.

Our neighbours are not just those in the world, it's those in the church too. We should love both the downtrodden and our fellow saints! Of course that might mean we need.....humility.

Our we judging others based on our own interpretations of Scripture? Our we ignoring the hurting around us, in our church, beside us on the pew?

What would Jesus say?