On the fourth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Love for all men; Peace in my heart, Everlasting life, and Salvation full and free.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Romans 5:5 BSB

God showed his love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and he has poured this love into us so that we love one another. He does not merely ask this of us. He commands it:

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 NLT

When my husband read the first few lines of the post, he snickered and said “you.. love for all men! You can barely stand XYZ!” And truthfully there are people that I cannot tolerate at all and yet the command of God is to love everyone. I acknowledge that while this is a daunting command, it is possible to obey it to the fullest. Jesus is our perfect example.

In creation, Jesus knew that one day the tree that he created would become an emblem of his shame in the form of the raw material for a cross. And yet he still made trees and blessed them and said everything including the tree was good. when he made plants like the beautiful rose bush, he knew that one day a crown of thorns would adorn his head but he did not despise shrubs but blessed them too and said they were good. Oh! he knew full well that man that he had created would turn around and be his tormentors but he still blessed man at creation and gave him dominion and authority over all things and said humankind was good. You see, Jesus saw the good even though he knew the disappointment would come. He chose to bless when he had the opportunity to curse, or ignore, or despise or say “I cannot stand XYZ!” The key is to see people as Jesus sees them: GOOD! If with all my failings and frailties God sees me as good, then who am I to not reciprocate?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Yours truly.