Salvation, grace, mercy, and love are not just for "good people "or people who have everything "together "because
the truth is that no one has it together. We are all broken, undone people in desperate need of Jesus. So Often we compare an area of our lives with someone else. Whether it be money, a job, children, attitudes, or stuff, we think "they must have a better
life than me because…" The truth is, we all have areas of struggle and pain in our lives and to think the grass is greener on the other side is naïve in a bit ridiculous. Believe me, I used to think that way a lot. If there is anything I know for sure, it’s
that we never see the full picture of someone else’s life so it becomes easy for us to pick things ourselves to fill in the missing pieces. So we paint a picture of someone else’s life and it leads to jealousy and bitterness of something that might be completely
false. So since this is something I have struggled with, I have decided to stop. To reach out. To assume nothing, though sometimes we have to reach out despite assumptions we have already formulated. To love people and get to know them. To build relationships
with others. When we really get to know and care for others we realize that they have pains that will break our heart. That they sometimes struggle so deeply that it shakes their entire world. When we can forget what we think we see or no we see that we are
all the same. We all need Jesus and we all need each other. We all walk around like life is a masquerade where we have to have painted smiles and have everything together or people will gossip and judge us. Honestly most of the time that does end up being
true. So this is a two-part challenge. In order for us to fulfill the command for us to love one another we have to stop living in judgment over people! Stop condemning others for their sin and start loving people to Jesus. If we would stop living like we
are better than others and get over ourselves we might be able to love one another the way Jesus intended us to you. Only in a place of genuine love will people feel safe enough to take off their masks and be vulnerable enough to Lowel us to live love in their
lives. Our actions are what point people toward or push them away from Jesus and we will answer for that one day. Wouldn’t life be better if we actually acted like a family and found love in a safe place to turn in times of need in one another? We can. The
choice begins with us.
