Luke 10:27 He (Jesus) answered, "'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, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" I was thinking about this today. The first part is the easy part (at least for me, in comparison to the second). Loving my Heavenly Father has always come easy for me. I was given the gift of a “large measure of faith” from a very young age. It’s the second part that really got me thinking. If I wasn’t a Christian how would I want to be treated? First of all I would not want to be judged all the time. I wouldn’t want to be treated as if I were ignorant, misguided, stupid, foolish or wrong. I wouldn’t want someone to point out my flaws at every turn. I am just stubborn enough to rebel with that kind of treatment. I WOULD want someone to respect my intellect and opinions.
I would want someone to trust that I have a brain and I am thinking all of these things through.
I would want to know that, even if I don’t agree with them, they still love and truly care for me.
I would want to feel like I could truly be my authentic self with them without feeling uncomfortable, like I could trust my heart with them because they weren’t forcing their opinions and will on me. IF I met a person like THAT, THEN if I ever had questions or a problem I needed to share, I could TRUST that person with my heart and emotions and just might turn to them to ask. Even if they didn’t “convert” me they would still be safe to talk to and would love me. IF they did help me see Christ they would not boast or be proud because THAT type of Christian understands that no Christian has EVER saved a person’s soul. They have only been privileged enough to point the way to the ONE who helped them “love your neighbor as yourself”!!!
Their decision is completely between them and God, not ME, them and God. All I’m supposed to do is love them, no matter what choices they make! 1 Corinthians 13:1 “Though I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Lord, help me to not be a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal!
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