Love
Love is hard. I'm not talking about gooey emotional love, but solid, dependable, mateship and selflessness. People don't find it easy. Much easier to be selfish. Sometimes we strike out at other people when we are hurting. Or we put up barriers which prevent fellowship with others, because we don't want to feel vulnerable, and we won't let go or our pride. Often it is not that we are nasty to others, but simply that we don't do good for people when we could - much easier to pretend that we don't notice the needs of others. We are just apathetic. Selfish.
The Christian is called to radical love. Revolutionary love. We are called to love our neighbour as we love ourself. We are called to put the interests of other people above our own interests. We are even called to love our enemies! It is so revolutionary it almost seems impossible. How can someone love their enemy? We have enough trouble loving our friends!
God didn't just tell us to love others. He gave us the means to do it. As God's children he has given us his Spirit, who works in our hearts to make us more like Jesus. And he has given us a reason to love the people around us. The reason is that Jesus died for them. The same God incarnate who paid for your sin when you didn't deserve it, also paid for their sin! And if they have not yet trusted in Jesus' payment for their sins, they may do so one day. So we should look at every person we meet, whether nice or cruel, as someone who Jesus valued enough to die for, and as someone who is a potential brother or sister in Christ. It is our privilege as Christians to witness to these people not only by our words, but also through our actions. As we show them undeserved love, we are showing them a small taste of Jesus' ultimate and unconditional love for them. We don't love people because we have to, we love them because we can!
Of course, we may not always feel like loving people. It is true that some people are easier to love than others. But Jesus said, "what good is it if you love only those who love you? Even tax collectors do that!" The key is that love starts as an action. Even if you don't feel like loving someone, you can still show them love by acting toward them in a loving way. And as you act in a loving way, you may just find that you begin to feel love toward them as well. A life defined by love begins with a decision to love people no matter what the circumstances and no matter what your feelings. And the humble acceptance that we can't do with without a daily dependance on God's Spirit. Ask God to give you a loving heart, and keep praying about it. He might just answer your prayer.
And for our Christian brothers and sisters, we should have a special love, because we share the hope of the gospel. We are partners in building God's kingdom. And we need each other's encouragement and support to grow as Christians. So we should make an extra effort to love Christains wherever we meet them, and treat them like family, because that is what they are!