Love One Another

If a hotel room or a restaurant is not up to my standards of cleanliness, then I just never patronize that establishment again. In fact, I steer clear of every business that is part of that chain. On the other hand, if my home is dirty, I clean it up. I don’t just avoid going to the parts of my house that are messy, (although I have been tempted to stay out of my teenager’s living space, since he actually has a biohazard sign on the door!)

“Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.” (1 Peter 1:22-25 MSG)

This verse comes up right after the one from yesterday that reminds us how God is the one who got us out of the mess we were in. ‘Loving one another’ means entering into one another’s mess. This is a subject I’d rather not write about. I would much rather spend time out in nature by myself or with those I love and avoid chaotic environments.

Now, I’m all for helping friends or family members who are in need, but I if I meet a strange meth addict whose life is a hot mess—I walk away quickly in the opposite direction! Most of the time I can’t improve the situation, and all I end up doing is spreading the disease anyway. Or at least this is my excuse for avoiding certain kinds of people.

When Jesus commanded us to love one another, he didn’t just mean our friends and family. However, I don’t know how He expects us to get involved in every mess! Maybe, like hotel maids, we aren’t responsible for cleaning every room in the hotel, but only the ones we are assigned to. And maybe our assignments change regularly and we have to meet with our Supervisor to know what to get involved in each day.