Love One Another

^{Matthew 22:39} 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Neighbors can be annoying. Some wake us up at six in the morning with their TV. Some steal our parking spaces and some cook food that stinks up our apartment's hallway. Friends can be stressful. They arrive late for dinners and they tell us we're fat when we don't want to hear it. And relatives can be downright unlovable. They overstay for the holidays, dig up memories we prefer to forget and compare themselves to us.

Yet it is no accident that God chose specific people in our lives to build our character. Iron sharpens iron. In the midst of annoyance we learn to be patient. During stressful times we learn to cling to God's peace. And with the unlovable, we learn to love like Jesus. Also remember, we ourselves can be that annoying neighbor, a tool to build another person's character.

Today, step back, take a deep breath and choose to love the unlovable.

Painting: "Peaceful Coexistence" by Darnell (www.artbywicks.com)