Why should we love people?

• • • I was talking with a good friend the other day and the topic was on how really loving someone looks like. Should we get firm with them and tell them right on the spot that what they're doing is wrong? Should we just nod our heads and talk to them later? Or should we not say anything, because sometimes being loving is walking away from the situation? Let me take you back a little bit. When I first excepted Christ into my heart my senior year of high school, I came across a verse that changed how I viewed what "christians"  are and should be. And that verse is the title of my blog, John 13:35. This verse caught my attention. I always thought that being a Christian meant being perfect, living a mediocre, holy life and judging others. I also thought being a follower of Christ meant being worthy and righteous, a great theologian and 100% obedient. This verse said otherwise, and it is "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Wow. That is pretty powerful, and I think that as Christians we need to have more conversations on the topic of what loving people really looks like. I prayed about this and spent time in the word about it. We are not going to be perfect every time, just like with anything. But what I came to understand is that, when dealing with people that we are friends with, enemies with, strangers to or have not even encountered yet, we need to have full concern for the person, and to look at them through how God would see them. If you are conversing with someone and they are not a believer, or they are foolish, and misguided; their words that you don't agree with are either out of pain, bitterness or lack of wisdom. We need to be more concerned with the person. 

      God doesn't work on every little thing about us, we're not a checklist. He works on our heart. So how do we apply this? How do we literally take this and put it into action? Well I think that we need to stop being so nitpick about every little thing a person says, and find the root of where they are coming from. Have some one on one time with this person, and get to know their heart. Learn to love this person and have a sincere concern for their heart. If you are bitter towards this person, pray for them. You don't want to see the person you're praying for fail, do you? After some time you will be rooting for this person and wanting to see them succeed. In Romans 12:9 it tells us that when we love, it needs to be sincere. If we want to see the person turn to Jesus or live a more Godly life, condemning them is taking 20 steps backwards. When we are eager to know their heart, and learn to see how God views them, we will see some wonderful changes.  
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First blog

Want to voice my experiences, readings, and thoughts on here. I'll take a whack at it, hope it works out.