1 John 5:1-6
I love the idea that "You see, to love God means that we keep His commands and His commands don't weigh us down." (1 John 5:3 VOICE) That means we should know His commands and in order to do that, we should stay in close connection with Him through prayer and reading the Bible. It does not mean we won't ever get tired. And, it does not mean we won't have moments where we feel down and discouraged. What it does mean is that we aren't alone. After all Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Put My yoke upon your shoulders--it might appear heavy at first, but it is perfectly fitted to your curves. Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. When you are yoked to Me, your weary souls will find rest. For My Yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (VOICE) We are not expected to walk this life alone. We are not expected to follow God's commands with our own strength. He is there to help us all along the way.
The other part of this passage that really struck me was the fact that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. "Everyone who trust Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One is a child of God . . ." (1 John 5:1 VOICE) That means we are all siblings. Do any of you know siblings who get along 100% of the time. I sure don't. But, I do know siblings who eventually grow up to learn to treat each other with love, kindness, and respect even when we disagree. We can do that as Christian brothers and sisters. We can love each other and respond with kindness and respect even while disagreeing. But, I do think it requires some maturity and growth. We spend time teaching our children what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior and don't expect them to automatically know everything. But, it seems we do expect our Christian brothers and sisters to automatically know how to behave. Perhaps we should remember that they don't and help them learn and grow. What do you think? We are siblings and siblings don't always see eye-to-eye.
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