A Lovely Shade Of Blue: The Rational Intention Of Love
...In human beings love is an emotion but it is also a cool, rational intention. If there is a person you do not like, and you act in their best interests for their well being and actively avoid doing anything to harm them, that is still love...
Claire George considers the Christian imperative to love our neighbours.
Christianity is not an easy religion. If you think it can be picked up in half an hour then you haven't understood it. Jesus asks us to practice love, patience and understanding in really difficult situations.
It's hard because what Jesus asks of us can sometimes go against our natural instincts. We humans have an inbuilt self-defence mechanism that makes us prejudiced against people we will feel threatened by. We are often scared of people we don't understand because we can't predict their behaviour. Jesus asks us to get over that, and to remember that all human beings are loved by God.
It helps to remember that God loves all people. That thought might inspire you to love everyone too. Or it may simply encourage you to keep the peace. Have you ever kept the peace with a hateful cousin because you know your Granny loves him? That act of peace is a mark of your love for your Granny. Keeping peace with all people is a mark of your love for God. All people are for God what your hateful cousin is to your Granny.
Sometimes the way Christians talk can give the impression that we are supposed to feel emotional love for all human beings. We hear about God's tender, merciful and passionate love for all people, and we think: "Cripes, am I meant to feel that too?" The thing is, God is infinite and almighty. We are limited beings of flesh and bone. He knows that we can't approach his level of pure love. We are not capable of it. But we can do something else.
In human beings love is an emotion but it is also a cool, rational intention. If there is a person you do not like, and you act in their best interests for their well being and actively avoid doing anything to harm them, that is still love. In the same vein, we can't feel emotional love for people we haven't met (e.g. victims of drought and war in other countries), but we can act with rational, thoughtful love to make sure that we promote their well being.
Christianity is hard because it is much more than hearts and flowers. Active Christianity requires mental discipline.
