Last month I celebrated twenty-nine years of marriage with my beautiful wife. This union has produced three great kids who have, so far, demonstrated that they should do well in life and be productive, caring people in this world. We have been blessed with a beautiful home, four chickens, one dog and one ornery tom cat. Now don’t get me wrong, our marriage is not always sweet and rosy. There are times that we get on each others nerves and have to go into separate rooms for our own good and those around us, but in the end we work it out and continue on. She keeps me honest and pushes me when I often want to just sit down and quit. But enough about that. Lets move on to what this post is really about and what inspired it.

A little while ago, on a Sunday morning, I was finishing dressing for church when my Wife came up to me and put her arms around my neck. She looked lovingly into my eyes and said, ” Do you know that I like you? I really, really like you!”. Now I know what you are probably thinking. You have been married for almost thirty years and she just likes you, only likes you, not love you. Let me tell you why those words meant more to me than a thousand “I love you’s”.

Before I go on let me warn my progressive/ liberal or atheist friends. I am about to quote scripture verses to enforce my point. I hope you keep reading because I think you will appreciate what I am trying to bring out. If you don’t, then remember that I still Love you.

In Luke it says the following:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” Luke 6:27

Now, when I read this, I take the meaning of the word Love as a call to action. We are to actively Love those around us. No matter whether we agree on everything or have different beliefs, we do not have the right, if we are a professing Christian, to Hate someone just because they are different. Jesus many times demonstrated this with people he met in the bible. He didn’t always like or condone what they were doing but he Loved them anyway.

This does go both ways though. Just because someone disagrees with your lifestyle or beliefs does not mean they necessarily Hate you and you are out of line when you accuse someone of Hate just because they believe differently than you.

In closing, my goal each day is to Love those around no matter what. But be warned that if I say that I “love” you it doesn’t necessarily mean that I “like” you.