As part of my Christian faith, I think it’s important to love others as Christ loved us. I also think that we are supposed to share our faith with others.
However, I think people misunderstand what this means.
First of all, loving others does not mean we stop loving ourselves.
If we look at the example of Christ — He took time for Himself. He did not feel compelled to heal or feed every single person. He loved others and gave to them but He also loved Himself and took care of His own needs. He obeyed His father but at one point asked that the cup be taken from Him.
He obviously had people He felt closer to and people he preferred to hang out with.
He also did not force Himself on anyone else.
When He healed someone or fed them — it was not conditional.
I remember reading about some group that had gone to a third world country. They fed the hungry, which is great, but they made the meals conditional on people professing belief, which is not great. In fact, I would say it’s evil, because it is using someone else’s suffering for your own purposes.
That is not something Christ did.
He never told people He would only feed them or heal them if they believed in His message.
Of 10 people He fed, maybe one or two would come to follow Him. And He was fine with that.
He was the light of the world. He was pure love. But part of that love was respect. He respected other people enough not to force Himself on them. They always had a choice.
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Previously Published on Medium
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