When we trust in Jesus, scripture tells us that we are joined with Jesus (John17:22-23, 1 Cor 6:17, Romans 6:5-8). Jesus talks about us being connected to Him like branches are to a vine (John 15:1-9). Instead of having to try hard to perform to earn our acceptance, we understand that we are already accepted because of what Jesus done.  Our task then is to rest in relationship with Jesus, connecting to Him as our source of life (John 14:6), letting His love heal us and give us hope. It is out of this love that we then respond by following Jesus into deeper intimacy.

In a world that seems to be growing  more polarized and unloving, we see that scripture tells us to love everyone (John 15:12) and to treat them as the valued creations  they are (Genesis 1:27). This means we go out of our way in order to get to know people and to develop healthy relationships with them (Leviticus 19:18).  Healthy relationships are built when we stop and listen to each other (James 1:19) and look to serve each other (1 Peter 4:10-11). We will do our best to live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18), and to love others as Jesus did (John 13:35). 

As Christ followers, we are told to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus also tells us that our neighbor is not simply someone in close proximity and with whom we are familiar, but that our neighbors are all around us and may come from different cultures or social backgrounds. Our community extends not only to our church family, but to the people we brush shoulders and interact with on a regular basis! With that in mind, we should strive to live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16) and, in humility, count others more significant than ourselves, looking not only into the interest of ourselves but also into the interest of others. We do this because it is the example of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-8).