Written by Rich Villodas, a contemporary pastor and writer. This is an excerpt from his book “The Narrow Path.”
How you love others is how you love God. This is one of the reasons many are giving up on the church. A faith that purports to love God but mistreats others is a farce. Evidence of whether our character is being formed by Jesus is found in the quality of our love. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount (and in multiple places elsewhere in the Gospels), Jesus defines the broad path as a livestyle that doesn’t see love of God and love of neighbor as a singular thread. Tragically, there are many Christians on the broad path. When the church refuses to love our neighbor we are traveling on a path that doesn’t lead to life. Although it’s easy to drift onto the broad path—to succumb to moralism, success-ism, and individualism—there is good news. Ther is another path available to us. Jesus invites us onto the narrow path, and no matter how long we’ve deviated from it, we’re always welcome.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with a all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. [Mark 12:30-31]
Pathways Press.com 