How we treat others is a reflection of our relationship with God.

The picture is a painting by Elena Ray called "Healing Waters."

Deuteronomy 30:6
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Luke 10:27
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

The verse from Luke has had the most impact on me recently of all these verses from the Bible. I have to admit that this is mostly because I have not loved my neighbor as I love myself. I do not prove my love for myself by providing for my own needs; I prove it by trusting in God who has provided all things for me and providing for the needs of others in return. In truth, I am not loving God if I do not love my neighbor in such a way and I have been taught this again because of the love of Christ who necessarily came to serve me and not to be served by me.

I stated in my title that, "how we treat others is a reflection of our relationship with God." The practical application of this statement that gave me the wisdom to peer more deeply into Christ's sacrificial love was this: In the home I rent in, the owner (and amazing friend of mine) has many pets such as chickens that I love very much. My afternoon ritual after work has been to enter into their cage and pet them as they all run to congregate around me.

I have repeatedly stated my love for them to many people. But what does love entail when it comes to animals? Scripture gives insight in Proverbs 12:10 when it says to us that, "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." So how have I provided for the needs of these animals that I often refer to as "ours"? Well, I've occasionally fed them and cleaned out their coop and gathered their eggs, but this has not been a very regular occurrence. When this was brought to my attention the response of my heart was to convince me that I should ignore the chickens when I got home and not visit them so that I would have an excuse not to care for them. The question God posed to me was whether this was a loving response towards creatures that cannot care for themselves. Of course, it was not.

Sin, being what it is, is about as useful as a darkened lighthouse and just as dangerous to those who depend on it to provide comfort. There is no safety in sin. It darkens the heart and leads every area of one's life astray. My response to the principle of loving those chickens was the same response I have been taking in much of my life recently. Instead of being a servant, I have become a taker. I have eaten the food provided for me without giving thanks, washed my laundry and took showers without a thought given to the water and soap costs, and enjoyed the fruit of the labor of my friend, all the while chalking my rent payment up as an equal exchange.

The exchange of money here is not, in itself, a righteous act even if the payment faithfully comes on time. It is the motive behind the exchange that matters. I had withdrawn myself from my friendship under the assumption that I would no longer be responsible for what came with maintaining it. In other words, my relationship with my friend, as with the chickens, had become one motivated not by love and compassion, but by duty and obligation.

While considering this outcome of my heart I began to realize that though I felt like my relationship with God was a good one, my actions were proving to show a completely different reality. Were my life to genuinely reflect the love God has shown to me through Christ I would have given of myself joyfully to care even for lowly creatures such as chickens, not to mention a friend who has repeatedly and happily sacrificed her own well-being at times to provide for my needs.

I'm happy to admit that, because God is a great God who blots out my transgressions and sins, I have again reformed and re prioritized my life to honor Him through my love towards others. Still, my heart is deceitful and though it as well as my thoughts have been illuminated by the light of the Holy Spirit the feeling of love is somewhat absent. This has been good for me however as I believe that God is desiring to show me that love is something that comes even in the absence of feelings. It is something absolutely knowable because it is able to shine even in those times when I don't want to give it. In other words, love is an action of letting go of my desires to bless others even when I don't want to.

God has brought me full circle in this reasoning. I was humbled before Him when He taught me that my feeling of love for Him was false because it was not backed by actions towards my neighbor (or friend in this instance). He is allowing me to understand His love in this moment by allowing the feelings of my heart to catch up with the actions of love that I am called to commit. This ability is not a natural act in the flesh but is only motivated out of thankfulness for the joy that has been set before me in Heaven through Christ who died for my sins. I hope that you also know of this life-giving love (or should I say "love-giving life?).