Seth's Journal

John 13:34-35 (ESV)
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. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

With these words of Jesus in mind, I think that it is time for those of us who call ourselves Christians to take a deep look at the attitude of our own hearts toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am increasingly appalled by myself and other Christians at the slimy refuse that lingers in our minds and drips from our mouths when we deal with other Christians. I have heard it preached too few times that there should be less gossip, backbiting, and slander among the body of brethren. And even when this topic is mentioned, it is spoken of in a chummy and indirect manner, because pastors are too spineless to speak according to the authority of God’s Word.

What is the purpose of calling oneself a Christian and being a part of a church, if one acts and lives just as non-believers act? We congratulate ourselves for loving our wives, husbands, and close friends, but even non-Christians do this! One of the most important characteristics of a Christian that sets him apart from the world is his ability to love even those who do not love him. It is the ability to love those brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we have little in common. It is the ability to love those Christians with whom we have opposing interpretations of Scripture. It is the ability to love those Christians who frustrate us in their spiritual immaturity. It is the ability to love ugly, unsociable, unlikable, awkward, weird, and quirky Christians. Let’s face it: Such Christians are out there.

Does anyone recall that we were once vile and filthy persons before a holy God? Imagine one who comes upon a the corpse of a man; his flesh is rotting and the organs of his body are putrefying and swelling with liquid. His body is venerating the foul smell of dead flesh. Maggots, birds, and dogs are feasting on the open flesh of the corpse. What will be the reaction of the one who comes upon this sight? Even the most concerned person will be repulsed and cover his mouth from the sickening stench.

Do we not see what the Lord our God has done for us? We were repulsive to Him. When He looked upon us, He too had to cover his mouth because of the rottenness of our flesh. He considered us to be his enemies. He opposed us, and the foul stench of our sin meant that we could not stand in His presence, and yet He loved us and made us His own in Christ.

Do we avoid certain brothers and sisters in Christ because we have passed judgment on them? Which brothers have we deemed unworthy to converse and fellowship with? How many people are in our churches with whom we have not spoken or taken even the time to say hello, because we assume things about them that in our minds makes them unfit for our presence? When, I ask, will we obey the command of Christ and love our brethren as Christ has loved us in our own putrefying filth? When will we love them with the same sacrificial love with which Christ has undeservedly loved us? When?