God loves us. All of us. A life well-lived is one filled with love for the world, yet so many of us forget that love is a verb. We choose to love each other, despite our imperfections. Love means taking care of others, not tearing them down because they don’t have as much money as you so they didn’t obviously work hard enough. Love means acceptance. Love is joy, not criticism. Love is treating people with respect. Love is more than just affection.

In our everyday life, we are going to spend it loving something. We can love the new shoes our grandmother just gave us the money to buy, or we can love our grandmother. We can love money and our weekly paycheck, or we can love the people we work with. We can love our sugar daddies, or we can love men we desire and respect. Love should never be poured into temporary things. People should also never be used as means to a wealthy end, but that is a different story than the one I intend to talk about now…

We go about our daily lives loving and hugging our best friends, all the while cursing our high school rivals. Walking in daylight, we bat our eyes for all the pretty guys, but when that new fat girl from 7^th period gym walks in, our laughter turns from giggles into something much more sinister. When we don’t like people, when we hate on people just like we did in high school because they live their lives differently than us, we are probably not loving them. Often, people don’t even realize they are being hateful, or disloyal to their fellowman. They believe that pointing out a person’s faults and sins will help them change their disgusting and wicked behavior. In the church, we even scoff at new families that dress differently than our beloved congregation. They look different, so they automatically must be sinning.

The thing is though, God never said, “For I so loved the world that I gave my only begotten son for only those people who love my rules and not those skinny fagots in your theater class.” Loving is a requirement to be a follower of God. No exceptions. Let me say it again. Loving everyone, including those people who don’t agree with you, or even those people that beat you up every day; loving EVERYONE is a requirement. When I think of Christians, though I am one, I think of racist, prejudice and sexist human beings. I think of the worst people I know. And yet I love them because God loves them. I weep for their future. I cry for the bitterness of their hearts. But I know I love them, because they deserve to be loved.

God loves everyone, and makes it a requirement for us to love each other unconditionally. Thankfully, though we have all tortured, deceived each other, and torn apart one another’s lifestyle, God gives us grace. Please listen Christians! A life lived like Christ is a life lived in love. You know who the biblical Christ often judges and changes? The church. Jesus speaks out against the church. The church became rulers for the law, teaching all members of the community that they are vile human beings instead of extending them grace. Jesus eventually died to extent the church, as well as all human beings who will accept Him, grace.

Instead of judging the world, shouldn’t we do just what Jesus has and extend each other grace and love? Shouldn’t we remember that Jesus loves us and that our God loves the entire world so much that we were all given free will to deny Him? If we look at the world with the lens of love, we will want to put love back into the world. I am afraid we have forgotten about love because judgement has clouded our hearts. It is alright to not agree with each other. It is alright to see each other’s faults. It is not right, however, to hate people because of what we discover about them; that they are imperfect. Loving is not only a verb; it is a lifestyle. Jesus took the worst of sinners and turned them into saints. Jesus tore down the thrones of exalted Christians, extended them love and grace, even if in the end they killed Him. Therefore, if we believe that we should live a life like Jesus, we must love with true abandon, not considering the consequences. After all, the best martyrs, the ones we exalt as saints year after year are the ones who dared to love just a bit too much, and where therefore stepping deeply into the will of God.