They will know we are Christian by our love

A conversation I had this week ended when somebody told me, “Oh no! Not you! I didn’t mean you. I know you! You are one of the kindest and smartest persons I know!”

Now, while I will vehemently argue the “kindest and smartest” remark, the first part of his statement was spot on. I truly get discouraged when I hear people talk and read what people write (especially on Facebook or Twitter) when it comes to others they may disagree with or those they may not know. My question as a pastor is this: Have we (myself included) lost all concept of what Christ was truly about?

I know I am not the only pastor who feels this way. I have had the joy of talking to three other pastors in the last two weeks, each of who minister in very different denominations than my own; each representing a place on a wide theological spectrum, and we all had the same sentiments — many of us seem to have lost our way. Where is the Christian love, respect, forgiveness and grace?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “In this kind of love, as Emerson said, ‘Do you love me?’ means more like ‘Do you see the same truth?’ Or at least ‘do you care about the same truth?’ It mat- ters not whether there is agreement in the answer. I’m convinced that though some of my closest friends are very different than I, I know we are always seeking to see and care about the same questions of truth, beauty, justice and love, even when the language of our answers may differ widely. When I’m with them, I know my sense of self stretches, and my love and generosity for others and for myself grows.”

We should all remember that the next time we judge each other with such anger and certainty. May it be that we are all actually striving for the same truth? Could we not apply this to all of humanity? If we truly knew that person like God know us, I am certain that we would end our conversations with “Oh no! Not you! I know you! Come, let us sit down and talk.”