The Simplest, Yet Hardest Command

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“The Simplest, Yet Hardest Command”

John 15:2 NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

 

This passage came up the past week as the verse of the day in the Bible app.  Each time I come across this passage, I am reminded of two things. First, it’s one of the most simple commands to understand.  You don’t need a college or seminary degree to understand what it means.  Second, even though it’s a simple command, it must be one of the hardest commands to live out in our lives.

 

I often find myself wondering why it seems so difficult to love some people.  I want to love others with a genuine love of Christ.  I want them to see Him in me and through me.  However, I’m often finding it hard to love people who are way different than me.  Instead of taking the perspective and attitude that I can love on people and learn so much from them in how they are different, I find myself feeling like I want to stick with small talk and go to talk to others I get along with better.

 

I know I’m not alone in this feeling.  As I consider this, I’m remembering 2 different quotes I’ve seen in the past from TobyMac.  One is “Love Difficult People.  You’re one of them.” The other quote is “When Jesus said love your neighbor, He knew your neighbor would act, look, believe and love differently than you.  It’s kind of the whole point.”

 

Those 2 quotes are so very powerful and they should stick in our minds every day when we encounter others who we won’t feel as comfortable talking to.  We are commanded to love others, especially those who are different from us.  I tend to often forget God wants me to learn from others that are different from me.  I often want to shy away from getting into conversations that make me a bit uncomfortable. 

 

We all need to remember the people Jesus came into contact with on a daily basis.  He got his hands dirty talking to people who were way different and He interacted with them to show the love of God.  God calls us to live this command out and reach out to people in any ways we can to show His love.

 

Funny thing is, even if we talk to people who are different from us, that doesn’t mean we have to agree with what they say or what they do.  We can respectfully disagree and still show the love of God.  However, I am not good at conversations where I disagree with people.  I’ve just never been good at those discussions.  I need to remember that I can learn from them and they can learn from me.  Showing love and respect is the key. 

 

Jesus told us to love others.  No one is excluded from that command.