~meditating on this~

I came across this bible verse this morning. The Lord gets his point across even when we're not looking for an answer! The words of this verse hit me "right where I live" and took my breath away.

If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do
not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we
have not seen. And he has given us this command: Those who love God must
also love one another. ~I John 4:20-21

You see, I struggle with loving some people. Whether I think they are too loud, or too selfish, or passive-aggressive, not authentic, self-absorbed, petty...you get the idea. It is so easy for me to pin a label on someone and never convict myself of the same afflictions. So, rather than nurturing others, accepting others, praying for others, I write them off. Dismiss them. Move on to the person that is easier to love. The ones that don't challenge me or my style or my view of the world. It's hard to admit. But how can I claim to love God, and then so willingly judge my "brothers and sisters", whom He loves just as much as He loves me and whom He has commanded me to love?

I'll be praying on this for a while, for I have a long way to go.

Thank you Lord, for opening my eyes a little this morning.