All you need is love

I've been reading through parts of the gospels this week and have re-discovered the core of Christian teaching. In the words of Christ, "Love others as I have loved you." The gospel is all about love. At it's core, it's about God loving the world so much that he gave his one and only son to die so that it could be saved from it's sin. It's about Christ loving us so much that he gave his own life so that we may live with him eternally. It's about his call for us to love everyone, including those that we may consider beneath us.

I think it is very profound how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, showing them that no matter how superior you are socially, morally, or economically, you should still serve the least of mankind as much or more than the people society would have you believe you should be serving. Everyone, is deserving of your love, just as God thinks we are all deserving of his love, even if we don't believe we are. Peter was very opposed to Jesus washing his feet, claiming that he instead should be serving Jesus instead of the other way around. But Jesus tells him that Peter can't be his disciple unless he allows him to wash his feet. I found this to be much like how I feel towards God's love for me. I'm far from deserving of the love he has shown for me, but in order to follow him I have to accept Christ's love and sacrifice for me, despite how far I am from deserving such infinite love.

God loved us so much when we never deserved it. And I think it'll be very helpful for me to think about this any time I don't think I should be loving others. Often I tell myself that someone has done nothing to deserve my love or my help. Perhaps they've been unreliable in the past, or perhaps hateful or has hurt me physically or emotionally. Yet I've done so many things that have hurt God in the past, yet he never ceases to love me despite my failures. I should show the same love to everyone who has wronged me, or just never done anything specifically to help me. I think this is the main justification behind Christ's teaching on loving your enemies, which can be one of the most difficult commandments to put into action.