Jesus summarized everything – the law, prophets and history of the Bible with two commands; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength – AND love your neighbour as yourself. No one would seriously argue with that – after all, that’s what Jesus said. And the cross Jesus died on is a perfect example of that. Jesus died on a stake – reaching into the heavens, but driven into the earth. He paid with His life – to create a relationship between God and humans. The other side to that, and the profound side to it – is that He died with His arms nailed wide open. He died to create a relationship between us and others.  Without the horizontal beam – it’s not a cross – just a stake!
Everything that Jesus taught, everything that Jesus said, all His prayers, His stories, His dreams and His ultimate plan is for us – His people, is to be connected squarely to Him – and then embrace others in the irresistible love that comes from Him. The relationship between us and God is settled – freeing us to  love others.
Talking about love is one thing; learning how to love – and then showing it through goodness, kindness, patience and forgiveness is another. And it all starts with how we love one another. John is very clear; whoever says they love God and will not love their brother or sister is a liar!

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