An outstanding summary, directly linked to a topical issue, of what Christian love truly means...and it is certainly not what most people assume today.
An excerpt:
The President then delivered his answer to the puzzle of living in the world of diverse faiths. "For if there is one law that we can be most certain of, it is the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together," he said. "It's no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. The call to serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth."
Interestingly, all committed Christians can agree on this point, but the result will not be what Mr. Obama is intending. Speaking as someone who was once on the proverbial 'other side,' who was living a lifestyle contrary to the Gospel, who was anti-life, I know that the most charitable loving thing Christians can do for those on the 'other side' is to love them enough to let them know that their behavior is harmful to themselves, and especially to their eternal salvation.
It is love to have the courage to tell the active homosexual that his behavior is harmful for him physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is kindness to tell the abortionist that God loves him and will forgive him if he'd only repent and stop the killing. It is an act of charity for the bishop to tell the errant pro-abortion Catholic politician that he may not receive Holy Communion until he repents of his support for abortion. The Golden Rule does not - as Obama hinted that it does - simply mean that we ought to suspend our faculties of judgment and accept error (a truly fatal error in the case of support for abortion) against our better judgment.
In this day and age it is the easy road to allow our fellow human beings, our brothers and sisters in Christian parlance, to do as they please in these areas. It is tough to stand up to societal pressures and muster the nerve to speak out in love against that which leads to perdition. But, if we truly love our brothers and sisters, if we care about them as a father does for his child, then we must love them enough to let them know the truth even if it hurts.
Read it all here.
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