Treat one another justly. Love your neighbors. Be compassionate with each other. Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor. Don’t plot and scheme against one another-that’s evil. Zechariah 7:10

As toddlers, we begin to learn the lessons of living with others. Parents instruct us to “be nice” and “to share”. We later learn more complex terms like “love” and “compassion”. As adults, the lessons continue as we endeavor to live with others on a micro and macro level. Yet, as a people we struggle to get it right, even though the Bible is full of guidance about how to treat one another. Love is God’s platform for His relationship with us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. Love is also His commandment to us in our approach to one another. Still, love, fair treatment, empathy and compassion are elusive in our society today. It must grieve God’s heart that we are so casual in how we treat one another. But each day is an opportunity to turn it around. We can adopt a higher level of commitment to love, to fairness and justice, to show compassion and to make sure the vulnerable are cared for. If we do this in love and concern for one another it will provide a salve to a hurting world.

This my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12