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“Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” (1 John 4:20-21)

     John brings up a very important point.  We’ve got to love each other, even those who aren’t like us and don’t agree with everything we believe in.  This is not easy, especially for those whom we might consider to be our enemies.  Jesus took it a step further, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

     If we stand a chance of getting along in this world, we’ve got to go the extra mile for others.  When we do all that we can to mend fences, we can leave it up to God to soften the hearts of those who oppose us.  We seek the perfect peace of God, and that is attainable when we choose love over hate.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you have challenged us in the way we think.  Help us to love others, despite our differences.  This is what you do, and we know that we ought to do the same.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.