ARE WE DOING OUR BEST

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 19:18 KJV

William M. Golden wrote the hymn “A Beautiful Life”.  “Each day I’ll do a golden deed, By helping those who are in need, My life on earth is but a span, And so I’ll do the best I can, The best I can.”  We sing the words but are we doing our best?  Do we love each other unconditionally?

We sometimes forget that loving one another unconditionally is not an option; it is a commandment from Jesus.  “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).  Do we love one another as He loves us?  If not, we are not doing our best.

Someone said “I have a right to be angry after what they did”.  If ever someone had a right to be angry, it is Jesus.  They beat Him beyond recognition, they spat on Him, and they cursed Him and rejected Him and left Him all alone to die on the cross.  Even God had to turn away from Jesus because He is a Holy God.

Even while hanging on the cross with the blood flowing down His body, Jesus said “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).  If Jesus could forgive after the way He was beaten, how dare you and I not forgive those who hurt us?

Joanne Lowe

July 13, 2018