LGLP

Love God, Love People.

How often do we hear that, as Christians? A bunch, right? How many of us actually follow through with it? I'd be willing to guess that not many do.

When non-believers say that Christians are all hypocritcal, judgemental, and two-faced, it breaks my heart. In Matthew 22 [ v 37-39 ], we are told that the greatest commandment is to not only love God but to love people as well. If we're viewed as these things, we must not be doing as we are commanded. In Matthew 5 [ v 44 ], we're told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I know that it's hard to be nice to people who talk bad about us, but think of how much harder it is to genuinely want those people to prosper and live a blessed life. It reiterates in Luke 6 [ v 27-28 ] how important it is for we, as Christ-followers, to want the best for those who look down on us and have things to say about us that aren't always the nicest. I wish that non-believers wouldn't base an entire religion on a couple of people, but unfortunatly they do.

As a Christian -- a Christ-follower -- I strive not to force my religion on non-believers, but to lift them up so that they know that no matter who they are -- whether they talk bad about me, have a reputation of some sort, or whatever else they may be struggling with -- I'll love them regardless of all that. I'll look past those things because Christ looked past my flaws, my sins and my insecurities and loved me so much that He died for me. I want the world to know that Christians aren't perfect and we never claimed to be, they're just forgiven. I know that I'm certainly not perfect and I've got just as many problems as other people do; I struggle with the same things; I'm tempted by the same things. But I won't judge people based on what they've done or what they're going through or struggling with because I know that I haven't always been as good-natured as I currently am. Who am I to judge people when the only one that can truly judge us -- heart, thoughts, and all -- is God?