Love For Our Brother

How many of us struggle with loving our brother?  By brother, I of course am referring to our fellow man.  I think it is something that many of us would quickly say of course I love my brothers.  I love all people.  We want to say that, and we want to believe that we do, but do our actions say otherwise?  I find myself analyzing my heart this morning, asking myself "do I really love my brother?" 

1 John 2 says "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.  But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness;  he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him."  The Darkness has blinded him.  We do not even realize how much we hate our brothers because we cannot even see.  That is why I encourage us all today to look deep into our hearts and minds;  look through the black, foggy, darkness of our selfishness and discover whether our love is real or not.

Driving to work this morning I was taken aback by a scene on the side of the road.  Where I live, many of the county prisoners are sent out on work details to pick up garbage, cut the grass, weed eat, etc.  As prisoners they wear a very identifiable orange and green outfit, setting them apart as they work.  Driving by, I noticed one of the men was up near a fence, away from where the work was going on.  Curious, I slowed my vehicle and found him smiling peacefully as he was petting the face of a beautiful horse that stood on the other side of the fence.  Nearby, another one of the gentlemen stood cautiously back, clearly not comfortable around these massive beasts.  God opened my eyes as I gazed upon this scene.  I have no idea what crime that man committed, nor do I know if it was a violent or depraved crime;  that does not matter.  But what I saw was a man whose heart was clearly softened at the sight of this beautiful creature, and he found peace in its presence.  As I said, God opened my eyes; what I saw was a great reminder that at the core of EVERY man lies a heart.   Many of these hearts have been hardened, many of them even broken and shattered, many of confused; yet you will find a heart at the core of all men. 

If you are like me, you enjoy your heart to be encouraged, loved, comforted, built up, and so on.  If you are like me you enjoy those moments when you find peace through God's beautiful creation, through friends who keep you up all night visiting, through brothers and sisters who show you love, and through those moments where someone goes out of their way make you smile.  So with that in mind, are you loving others as you would hope to be loved?  Are you willing to look to the core of EVERY man and find his heart and love it?

Are we living in the light and loving our brothers?  Or, are we living in the darkness and living blind hateful lives toward man? Take the plunge and examine your heart this day and be willing to work on what you find.