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Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

 

There are so many great lessons packed into this letter from Paul about loving ALL of God’s children and showing God’s love by the example we set. We live in a world dominated by social media, and we are often judged (and judge others) by what we post on various platforms. So often you see people posting about a service project or some grand gesture, but Paul reminds us to live a quiet life. We are encouraged to live a life of love and respect because it’s the right thing to do, not just so you can post about it on Facebook.

I am very fortunate to work with a man who lives this in every aspect of his life. In the short time that I’ve known him, I’ve seen how intentional he is to remember small details and reach out with an encouraging message or well wishes when I have something going on. He says a quiet prayer before every meal. He goes to mass on the road any chance he gets, and he greets every single person he comes across with a smile and friendly greeting. He doesn’t force anything on anyone, and he is more than happy to discuss his faith, but I know he doesn’t do any of these things for attention or to improve his image on social media. He lives a humble life, but I can guarantee he has earned the respect of everyone around him, and they feel God’s love through him.

It doesn’t always have to be a grand gesture, sometimes it is those little things that end up muttering the most. This verse immediately reminded me of the song “And they will know we are Christians by our love.” I leave you with those lyrics for our prayer today.

“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love”

Amen.

Karen DeMauro

Karen.demauro@gmail.com

 

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