Where is the love?

Over the years, an number of songs have been written with this title, asking, "Where is the love?" This musical question is one that I sometimes find myself thinking about as I hear about problems that exist between students in our school. Where is the love? I can see where the world is wondering where the love is, because the world lives in denial of God who is love and therefore does not know true love.

But we are Christians, right? Followers of Christ? You know - the man who was love incarnate? God with skin on? The one who loved and valued us enough to be glad to die for us? The one who was rejected, despised, spit upon, lied about, mocked, beaten, bruised, hated, tortured, and brutally executed in our place? Yeah, that guy. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Redeemer, the one and only Son of God, the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. The one who cared enough to step in and save me from the eternal agonies of hell. I think we all know who I am talking about now.

"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples-when they see the love you have for each other." John 13:34-35

"This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you." John 15:12

"For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other." 1 John 3:11

I think the message is very clear - we are to love one another the way that Jesus Christ loved each of us. So, my question stands: "Where is the love?"

Jesus laid down his life and suffered in our place. He took what he did not deserve so that he could give us what we do not deserve, which is his righteousness and his holiness, so that we can stand by grace 100% accepted in God's sight, even though we do not live 100% perfect, righteous, holy lives.

Jesus did not command his disciples to mock, to spit on, to reject, to beat on our fellow Christians. He didn't even say to do that to our enemies! He said that people would know we are Christians by the love we have for one another.

I am saddened and also angry when I hear about Christians in our school who think it is okay, even cool and funny, to mock and ridicule and torment other students for things they have said or done or for the way they are or how they look. What's up with that? Where is the love in that? Jesus saved us from hell and accepted us in Him so we could turn around and put people through hell on earth and make them feel rejected? I really don't get it, unless I think about the fact that maybe some people who call themselves Christians really are not, or there are carnal Christians in our midst who aren't living Spirit-filled lives, but living according to the spirit of the world, the same world that hated and crucified Christ.

Okay. I have gotten this off my chest. God help me not be like the man who was forgiven the billion dollar debt by the king and then turned around and threw the man who owed him ten bucks into prison. I hope he keeps us all mindful that we are sinners, saved by grace, and that we have no right to treat anybody any other way than how God has treated us - with love and grace and amazing forgiveness that we do not deserve.

Love one another. That is a commandment, not from me, but from the one to whom we owe our very lives...