Recently, while reading through a random bible devotional, I stumbled upon John 15:17, “This I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another”,  and it caught my attention like a bunch of red grapes in a bag of green grapes. I attempted to ignore it, but as I began to explore the cross-references it was repeated multiple times, so I decided to study it from a variety of Bible versions. 

What stood out the most was the word ‘command’. Another version used the word ‘demand’. God’s word commands us to love each other. It’s not a request or recommendation that is optional or discretionary. The failure to love each other is therefore disobedience to God, which is sin. It is not something that we can take lightly when we consider that God sent Jesus to the earth, to die on a cross to resolve the sin issue. 

Child of God, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent or if you’re black, white, yellow, red, blue, or green, your citizenship in the Kingdom of God transcends all of those demographics.  Obedience to God’s command to love each other is of paramount importance. 

When we go against God’s commands, it’s as though we’re saying that God is dead or impotent, so we have to take up the fight for him. News Flash! God is alive, he’s still omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient and the earth is still his footstool. 

Understand that God can stop anything and anyone who attempts to interrupt His plans from being fulfilled here in the United States, and across the globe.  He does not need our help. 

Consider how Jesus and the early Christians related to politics. They never sided with parties or sects in preference to other followers of Christ. While they fulfilled their civic responsibilities it was not what consumed them. They were members of the body of Christ first, and they deal with politics in prayer. 1 Timothy 2:2 says, “And pray for every political leader and representative, so that we would be able to live tranquil, undisturbed lives, as we worship the awe-inspiring God with pure hearts.”

Jesus never condoned sin, he addressed it. He said to the leaders of his time, “Woe to you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs….” But to us, Christ-followers He says, be holy as I am holy. We are held to a different standard. Holiness is our benchmark. 

As I continued reading, the trail of scriptures led me to John 4:20, which says, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” That verse summarized the entire conversation I was having with my Heavenly Father. 

When we fail to love each other, not only are we disobedient but we are also liars who do not love God, because God is Love. If you’ve found yourself celebrating when the sin of fellow believers is exposed or if the Holy Spirit has convicted you, I want to invite you to take a moment to repent, knowing that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can be obedient and love each other.

I want to challenge us to identify areas that we have not been expressing love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps, because of our political, ethnic, or other differences. Do you sometimes celebrate silently when fellow believers are brought to shame? Do you sometimes chuckle and say, “they deserved that”? How about muttering to yourself, I bet they learned their lesson. Instead let’s fervently pray and ask God for wisdom and direction in our political choices and let’s pray for our leaders, asking that God’s will be done in our world. Let’s also become intentional and choose to love each other as children of God, over all of our differences.

Remember John 13:35 says the world who desperately needs us to be salt and light, “will know us as Christ’s followers if we demonstrate our love to others.”