\u201cLove one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another\u201d (John 13:34). It sounds so simple, but it\u2019s the biggest challenge we face. Not everyone is easy to love. A friend complained the other day, \u201cMy boss should have been a porcupine. She prickles at every little thing!\u201d But every encounter we have with another member of God\u2019s creation gives us new opportunities to draw closer to Him.<\/p>\n
My friend doesn\u2019t have to be fond of her \u201cporcupine\u201d to love her. Biblical love is about compassion, about what we do and how we treat others. \u201cIf you love me, you will obey what I command,\u201d Jesus tells us (John 14:15). \u201cWhoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me\u201d (John 14:21). Fortunately, God understands that loving others isn\u2019t always easy. He stands right behind us, giving us all the support we need. When we don\u2019t know how to love, He who is<\/em> love can teach us how to win against fear, anger and hate.<\/p>\n Prickly people like my friend\u2019s boss bring out a lot of surprising feelings in us. Anger, frustration, envy and resentment are just a few of the things that get in the way of living out our faith. Experts tell us not to ignore these feelings, or our neglected emotions will fester in a dark corner of our hearts. We need to acknowledge how we feel\u2014and then let go of our feelings and move on.<\/p>\n No matter how difficult others may be, we\u2019re responsible for how we act and react. Jesus tells us to pluck the plank from our own eye before we focus on the sawdust elsewhere (Matthew 7:3). But what if all we can see is sawdust? How can we see the plank? My quick \u2018vision test\u2019 of what\u2019s in my heart is to turn to 1 Corinthians 13:<\/p>\n