“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 (ESV)
Churches have at times been lambasted, and sadly, fairly so, for being places which have been characterised by the fallout of the poison of bad relationships.
Often the root cause of this is when church is treated solely like an organisation, a business, a project or something people go to - in fact, anything instead of being about the vibrant community of people who have encountered Jesus Christ and had their lives transformed as a result.
The defining difference of the Church should be the love that is shown between the very people who make it up. Why? Because God himself is Love, He first loved us and it’s the hallmark of the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the benchmark for our own relationships.
Today, and always, when interacting with one another, make the choice to do so out of love.
It is the single, most powerful fertiliser for positive, fruitful relationships and the catalyst for the power of God to move among us and through us.