Loving Men Christianly

How can we love men as Christ intends us to love them?

Hand with Globe

• First, we must see men as Christ saw them. This means that we shall include every man within the scope of our concern. We must never think only of our family, or our nation, or our race, or of our church. Rather, every man is to be a concern of ours, because he is one of Christ's children of whom Christ died.

• Second, I must recognize my personal responsibility to every man with whom I come in contact. "I am my brother's keeper." This means that I must keep my standards high. I must never permit myself to give expression to shabby thoughts, filthy jokes, or sordid ideas. I must not lend my influence to the weakening if a high regard for honest work. I must never speak disparagingly of something that is holy.

This is a solemn responsibility to be our brother's keeper.

A young woman once told of her life of degradation, and said that she first began this way of life through talk that she had heard from one who was older than she, a person whom she greatly admired and trusted. If by our speech or influence we cause one to go down the wrong path--how tragic! We cannot excuse ourselves by saying that we did not mean for that to happen -- we only talked. We cannot say that we did nothing--nothing except ruin a man's life!

He who saws through the trunk, though he leave
The tree up in the forest,
When the first wind casts it down, is his not
The hand that smote it?

Have we been stumbling blocks to another? Has our influence been positive or negative? Everyone has influence whether he wants it or not.

We can never influence another in the right way unless we ourselves are what we ought to be. Our unconscious acts, if they are to be an influence for good, must come from a heart that unconsciously beats for the right. This is the basic reason why we cannot love men unless we love God.

Jesus says:
"Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me."

Detail of Statue of Christ in Church, Mexico
It is Christ who weeps when little children do not have enough to eat and live in homes unfit for rats. It is Christ who feels the shame when some of his children are called "second rate" and inferior. If only we could understand that Christ is in that teacher, that student, that mother, that father, that child. -- what a difference it would make in our treatment of each other.

Sisters Show their Love in a Big Greeting Hug

Has our love of God shown in our love of men?

This is the test of love.

Are we innocent or are we guilty?

Love, Mimi