To my fellow Christians, with whom I find kindship and share my fate
Did Paul write to the Corinthians "And now these three remain: faith, hope and hate. But the greatest of these is hate"?
Did Jesus tell us us that one of the greatest commandments is to "hate thy neighbour?"
No, they instead preached of love for others in all of its labour
Of love.
It is hard, sometimes, to interpret a book from thousands of years ago
It is hard, sometimes, to work out what it wanted us to know
But where it comes to love, the words echo clearly in scripture through the years
It is love, always, that must be what perseveres
Hatred starts conflict, but love covers over all wrongs
It infects our worship and bleeds through our songs
Love Christians. Love non-Christians. Even if you don't love all that they do.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you
You cannot love God without loving your sister and brother
You are not full of love if you can't feel love for the "other"
Who do you think, right now, the Samaritan in the room would be?
And who is stirring your hatred against an enemy you rarely see?
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses
Love is what makes us come to our senses
So to my fellow Christians, and anyone else still here
If you hate too easily, then how can your love be sincere?
It is hard to love so completely as Jesus did when he died for all our sins
It is easy to hate when it seems to come so naturally from within
But you shall remain in darkness if you hate your brother, even if you claim to be in light
You are not called to do the easy thing, but to try to do what is right
So love. Unconditionally. Sincerely. And without hate.
As long as you manage that, I shall be glad to share your fate.
Luke 6:27-28 (NIV): "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you".
1 John 4:20 (NIV): "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen
Matthew 5:44: "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Proverbs 10:12 (ESV): "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses"
Proverbs 10:12 (GW): "Hate starts quarrels, but love covers every wrong."
Proverbs 10:12 (NIV): "Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs."
1 John 2:9 ESV (NIV): Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness
Proverbs 26:24-26 (ESV): Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly
1 Peter 4:8 (EASY) Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done.
