For God so loved the world that He ... John 3:16

       "The inhumanity of man toward man is Our Greatest Sin." MH163. With me it began as a little Catholic boy, being warned not to make friends with the Protestant boys and girls in the neighborhood. There was the "fact" that we were superior to them. Oh yes, we would tolerate them, but the term tolerate infers an inherent betterness. Then I became a Protestant and the whole superiority thing flip-flopped. This arrogance is also in politics, Republicans being superior to the Democrats and vice versa. It is also in the world. Countries and philosophies are competing against one another such as; communism, democracies and dictatorships. In this process, we brutalize one another, because we are inherently better than they. Are we really?

       The acid test of our Christianity is in how we treat those, think of those, and talk about those, who differ from us. Christ says, "You will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16 Go ahead, take the acid test! Take one hour of your time and make a list of those who are different than you, hold to a different philosophy or doctrine, different lifestyle, different church, dress different, those whom you have gossiped about, are jealous about or just don't like. Now ask the Holy Spirit to impress upon your conscience, according to God's Word, what God would have you do with this person. Then do it!!!

       Is there resistance in your heart? Do excuses rise up in your thinking? Do you refuse to follow through with what God's Word teaches and the Holy Spirit brings to your conscience? It has been said, that we do our greatest sinning when we believe we are right. Is that why there are so many religious wars going on today? While you and I cannot solve all the wars in the world today, we can deal with the war in our own heart that which God is asking us to deal with. You are probably wrestling with an old friend, a member of your own family, or perhaps someone in your own church, someone in your employment or neighborhood. Whoever it is, if we refuse God's leading to treat them as God wills, this is our inhumanity of man to man! We are doing it "our" way, according to our feelings, refusing to be led by God and thus managing ourselves. This is not God's way! Did you pass the test? If not just look to Calvary and you will find your perfect example and a plain path before your feet!

     Looking to Calvary,

           Jim & Sally