Love one another ...

Thursday, Dec 27, 2012. Where do you get input for your reflections? There are many possibilities … one can try to get away onto some island or into the mountains. One can go into town, watch films, try to distract our attention and relax by games. One can read books, there is a wide range of literature.

Inspiration by the New Testament …

One key inspiration can come from the New Testament itself. Of course, many books can help to understand it - it is always a good idea to look into the wide range of Christian spiritual literature. But you need to stay in touch with the bible itself, not just with interpretations. You need to read the gospels yourself, you need to read the letters of the Apostles. They can provide a pure and direct input and inspiration!

“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” (1 John 3, 11) My little morning tour led me into the letter of the apostle John in the bible. In his letter John urges us with intense words. We are asked to stay in the love of God. We are asked to behave differently than the world, than Cain, who murdered his brother.

The sentences take up a good point. God wants us to come to his kingdom, and it is a kingdom of trust and love and support. It is also a kingdom of truth and truthfulness. When we come to the Lord, we will live in this kingdom. Now, it is time to start living this way.

Love in Conflicts? …

When the bible tells us to love one another, it does not ignore all the conflicts we are a part of. Of course, our world is not like this. People are not all loving each other. There are many conflicts arising from different background and history, from different belief and opinion, from different characters and different ways to approach things. Conflicts are natural to arise.

There are also conflicts which come from behaviour which does not want to love. There is hatred, ignorance and greed. We cannot completely ignore evil, which is a part of every human. We all are doing things, we should not do. We all are not always doing, what we should do. Failure is everywhere.

But in all of this, we are asked to find the peace and love of the Lord. Jesus came into his creation, into our world. God came to us, to be there in the middle of the conflict, in the middle of our own personal situation. His spirit, his power, his possibilities will be there where we are. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts