Jesus Said

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In John 13:34, Jesus Said...

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
With all that is going on in our country and the world, I keep coming back to this Bible passage and I feel I must share my feelings...and I also realize that my thirty plus years as a teacher keeps coming out...so here goes...

The definition of a commandment is a rule that must be obeyed

First of all...Since this passage from John's Gospel is a commandment that means it is NOT an option...

In addition...Within this commandment there are No options...It does not say love one another except for:
those who don't look like you or don't have the same belief system as you or don't speak your language or don't "behave properly" (whatever that means) or those who offend you or those you don't really know...No, there are no exceptions!

So with that in mind I have to share with you my sadness over what is taking place in our country at this time.

We continue to sit by in shock as we witness mass shootings of innocent children and adults
We continue to sit by in shock as we witness abuse of children and their parents who are seeking a better life free from the fear of violence and for many almost a certain death if they remain in their own countries
We continue to sit by in shock as we hear political "leaders?" spout hateful rhetoric about other human beings
We continue to sit by as we hear bold faced lies about individuals and groups of people
We continue to sit by as we hear so called "Christian" leaders spout positions that are not based on this commandment but some twisted interpretation of other biblical passage

What is our response?  Do we do nothing to challenge them and just sit there and shake our heads?  Do we think this is horrible, but what can I do?

Well, if we have learned anything from history, we cannot remain silent and let this happen, we must not just throw our hands up in the air and say but what can I do?

We MUST in the words of one of my favorite hymns... let everyone know we are Christians by our love, by our love...and not just in words but in our actions...

By not respectfully challenging all of these kinds of unchristian behaviors, it appears that we are accepting them... Please join me and let it be known that we will no longer accept them and we will not support anybody else who does accept these behaviors.

AMEN

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