It doesn’t take much to realize that this commandment of Jesus is one that should not be taken lightly. To love as Jesus loves seems way out of our reach; to let love rule everything we say and do, seems almost impossible. Loving Jesus is the easy part, loving each other: that’s the hard part. You see Jesus doesn’t cut us off on I-95 or beat us into the last parking space. Jesus doesn’t lose the remote or snore. He doesn’t borrow money and never pay it back. He doesn’t text while we are trying to talk to him and he doesn’t leave dirty dishes in the sink. He’s not drunk or addicted. He’s not an eyesore sleeping at the train station. He’s not drooling or incontinent. In short, Jesus doesn’t annoy us; he doesn’t repulse us. But Jesus’ commandment doesn’t leave wiggle room. This is not a suggestion or a helpful hint. It is Christ’s commandment to love all others as he does and as he has demonstrated to us in so many ways. Nobody said it was going to be easy; some people are harder to love than others. But, just as Jesus offers us no choice but to love, he clearly shows us the way to love. To follow his commandment, we have to practice loving the way that he loves. First by praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and then, no matter how hard it is to find, we need to respect the divine spark in everyone we meet. Try very hard to look past your annoyances, prejudices and society’s degrading labels. Keep searching until you recognize the image of God that resides in all of us. Work at it. Pray for it. And always be kind; be respectful; be helpful; be forgiving. Remember every one of us is a beloved child of God and God has a purpose for each life. To love as Jesus commands means to look for the good in others and to be more Christ-like in everything we say and do.
There is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew tired of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the huge boulder until the ugly stone became a beautiful running deer. When he finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking. A neighbor asked, “How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of a deer?”
The man answered, “I just chipped away everything that didn’t look like a deer!” And….shouldn’t we do the same? If we have anything in our life that doesn’t look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If we have anything in our life that doesn’t look like compassion or mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If we have anger, resentment, prejudice or envy in our heart, with God’s help we can get rid of it!
Let God chip everything out of your life that doesn’t look like tender heartedness; let him chip away everything that doesn’t resemble Jesus.
Sylvia Bates
