“O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.”
– Psalm 26:8
When King David wrote this verse, he was speaking of the extraordinary portable sanctuary called the Tabernacle. Built in the time of Moses, this tent was the place where God’s presence and glory visibly dwelt on earth among His people. A generation later, the place where God’s glory dwelt was the spectacular temple built by David’s son Solomon. It would be easy to fall in love with these magnificent structures and places so intimately associated with God’s presence and glory. They had beauty and majesty. They couldn’t disappoint.
Today, however, God’s presence and glory dwells in something very different! He dwells in every follower of Jesus. God lives in you and in all your Christian brothers and sisters. Do you love them with the kind of zeal David had for a tent??? Jesus was very, very explicit – His followers are required to love each other as proof to the world that they are actually Christians. His commandment to love one another the way He loves us isn’t a suggestion. It’s truly a commandment.
But people are messy. They’re complicated. They’re challenging. They’re frustrating. They’re imperfect. It doesn’t matter…. Love them anyway! Just like Jesus loves you when you’re messy, complicated, challenging, frustrating, and imperfect. Do you love your fellow Christians because they’re temples of God’s Spirit and presence on earth? Do you love your fellow church members because they house the Holy Spirit? Do you choose to love them even when they’re unlovable?
Love for fellow believers isn’t meant to be blind. But it must imitate the sacrificial love Jesus has for His imperfect followers. Choose to obey Jesus. Choose to love the people in which God’s Spirit and glory dwells. Love them actively and intentionally. Love them in the messy reality and not just the abstract imaginary. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ. #FollowJesus