Love One Another - Martin Wiles

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 NLT

“Love one another.”

My daughter sends me small conversations she has with her two sons—or either conversations that the two boys have with each other. The five-year-old is a contemplative type who attends a nice public school in our town. His teacher is the daughter of a teacher who teaches with me at a local Christian school. His younger brother attends the Christian school.

Recently, the five-year-old’s attitude has changed—and not for the better. He has taken up with a friend at school who is teaching him bad attitudes…and words. One of his attitudes is saying he doesn’t love someone when they don’t give him what he wants or allow things to go his way.

One recent conversation went something like this:

Levi (shouting to his brother Colton): I don’t love you anymore.

Colton: (shouting back): Love one another.

Colton may have missed the tone of love, but at least he knew the verse. I know many wonderful public-school teachers—many of whom are believers—but unfortunately, they can’t express their faith at school. Colton’s teachers can, and the kids are taught biblical principles and verses each day.

Jesus echoed the same. He compared believers to a bright light on a hill … such as an illuminated house on the top of a mountain … with the intention that we would let those lights shine. Colton was. Levi has too…when his attitude doesn’t get in the way.

Letting our lights shine means checking our attitudes and actions. If we cover the light with bad attitudes and actions—as Jesus warns us not to do—we snuff out the light. We don’t lose our salvation when we do, but others can’t see the light for the nastiness shining through our mannerisms.

Staying in the Word … allowing God’s principles to infiltrate our minds daily…goes a long way with keeping our attitudes and actions in check. When we’re tempted to say or do something we shouldn’t, we’ll feel God’s inner nudge not to. We may not feel like acting or talking otherwise, but we will. And at the very least, we’ll just keep our mouths shut.

Let your light for Christ shine. You can because God’s grace is always sufficient.

Prayer: Father, help us to love one another through our actions and attitudes.

Tweetable: Do you have trouble loving some people?

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