Jesus expects our love for one another to be the hallmark of Christianity. In only two verses of John's Gospel (13:34-35) he three times tells his followers to love one another. He concludes that everyone will know that we are his disciples if we have love for one another.
I think of the big split between Catholic and Orthodox, then the Protestant Reformation and the continuing splintering of Christianity after that, and I look at the serious division among Catholics today. I find it hard to love those, for instance, who are trying to undo the Vatican Council.
We are told that in the early days of Christianity everyone would look at the Christians and say, "See the Christians! how they love one another!" It's been a long while since people have been able to say that
Jesus expects me to love people I don't agree with. He loves both good and bad. He loves because of who he is, not because of who they are. He lives in me and loves through me. By learning to love with his love I could do my part in healing divisions.
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