"We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord And we pray that all unity may one day be restored, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love We will work with each other, we will work side by side, We will work with each other, we will work side by side And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, They will know we are Christians by our love, By our love, by our love And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, They will know we are Christians by our love We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand, We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love By our love, by our love And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love."
This song is a song I used to sing in church all the time. I grew up loving this song, but never really fully understanding it. This song sings the truth of Jesus's teachings here on earth. This song sings about the way we are called to live. It is filled with so much truth, yet do we live what this songs sings about? Now be honest here, if you can't be honest with me, at least be honest with yourself and God.
The sad truth is that very often, we do not live the truth of this song, although we are supposed to. Speaking for myself, I do not always live the truth of this song. If I were to truly live up to the standard of this song and the teachings of Jesus, I would love everyone. Okay let me clarify. I do love everyone but not the way I should. You don't either! Admit it! Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Protestant, Nazarene, non-denominational and all other denominations tend to stand against each other. We bicker and argue over doctrine and rituals. Really? We seriously bicker amongst ourselves? We are believers of Jesus Christ, right? Then why don't we act like it?
Luke 10:27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
There was one command Jesus left us. That was love! Love God, love others and love ourselves. All the commands have been summed up in one word, love! There is not one person in this world that is better or greater than another. There is not one person in this world who can honestly say we love the way are supposed to. There is not one person in this world who loves others the way Jesus did. Okay Mother Theresa came pretty darn close.
Our churches doors should be open to everyone and anyone, not just those who dress appropriately. We should welcome those poor who have only the clothes they have on. We should welcome tattooed, spiked hair drummer as well as the business man in a suit and tie. We should welcome the teenage mother who is struggling to survive. We should welcome the drug addict who just got out of rehab. We should welcome the guy who just got out of prison. But do we? If one of these people showed up at your church on Sunday morning, would they feel welcomed or ostracized?
I have to tell you, one of the most profound moments I have ever witnessed was when a family member of our church had just been released from prison. It was his first time back and I am sure he may have felt a little awkward, but our pastor saw him sitting off to the side and stopped his sermon for a moment and ran over to him and hugged him and said, "welcome back". My friends that is the way Jesus wants us to love others. That is the way Jesus loves us, why can't we love others the way He loves us? Please let's do our best to live out this song not just sing it.
Lord forgive me for not loving others the way you love me. Help me to learn and live real, sacrificial love. Help me to stop singing about it and talking about it and just do it! Help me to love others, in Jesus name I pray, amen!
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