A Christian Virtue

Let brotherly love continue. Hebrews 13:1

I am being very frank about this and I hope I am being helpful: Do not ever say you are not right with God because you like some people better than others!

I believe you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. It is easy to love those who are friendly; others rub us the wrong way or perhaps they cut us down.

The writer to the Hebrews has appealed to us as Christian believers to "let brotherly love continue"—in other words, "never stop loving one another in the Lord."

Here is what I have found: It is possible to love people in the Lord even though you may not like their boorish or distasteful human traits. We still love them for Jesus' sake!

Yes, I believe you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. Our admonition is to love them in a larger and more comprehensive way because we are all one in Christ Jesus. This kind of love is indeed a Christian virtue!

Father, help me to love people for Jesus' sake even when they do or say things that annoy or hurt me.

A.W. Tozer, Mornings with Tozer, (3825 Hartzdale Drive Camp Hill, PA 17011: WingSpread Publishers, 2008), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "October 3. A Christian Virtue".