2 June 2016
Saint Timothy is telling people to “stop disputing about
words; this serves no useful purpose.”
In other words, he’s saying: “Stop debating about how to love God and our neighbor . . . and just do it.”
And maybe that’s a message we ourselves need to hear; or maybe somebody
we know needs to hear it. It’s so
obvious, and yet so easily overlooked, what St. Timothy is saying: “Don’t talk about being a Christian . . . Be a Christian.”
Of course there is legitimate debate and discussion about
what it means to love God and love our neighbors. But the discussion itself has to be couched
in the Spirit of Love; otherwise—as St. Timothy observes—it “serves no useful
purpose."
Jesus’ two commandments are so simple: love God, love your
neighbor. And there are a lot of ways to
do that. The trick is to never stop
loving, even while we’re trying to figure out how to do it; even if we disagree
with somebody else about it. Our task,
our joy, is simply to love. And so,
today, let’s not just talk about
being a Christian . . . let’s remember to actually be a Christian.
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