It's people I can't stand

"I love mankind, it's people that I can't stand!"

Those were the words of the immortal Linus, in a Peanuts comic strip long ago. Do they ring true for you? I suppose there are times in all of our lives when we relate to Linus.

But, God's Word say, "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18

And we learned in a recent study at church that "the fruit of the Spirit is love." (Galatians 5:22)

If we want to be like our Lord, and as Christians that should be our highest desire, then we must practice loving one another. Jesus showed us just how much we should love each other on the cross. Evangelist Billy Graham put it this way, "God proved His love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'"

May I share some thoughts about the love we are to have toward one another?

Such love seeks the welfare of all.

"Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification." Romans 15:2

Such love works no ill to any.

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:8,10

Such love seeks the opportunity to do good to all, especially to Christians.

"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:10

Such love is the chief test of discipleship.

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:35
"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John 3:14

So, the next time you start thinking like Linus, remember that the fruit of the Spirit is love. It's not always easy, but it is ALWAYS what God wants from us - that we love one another.