Stop, Think, Love

As I was focusing on Jesus before taking communion today, a thought struck me.

A lot of times we see Jesus' act of redemption as this singular event that happened on the cross totally forgetting that he wasn't pristine when he got to Golgotha. No, he had been whipped, scourged, beaten, and, for lack of better terms, pretty well f-ed up before he even left the public square and was paraded along the Via Dolorosa.

Why, therefore, do we feel that we need only be like Jesus on Sundays in church? Because Jesus loved us so much, he spilled his blood all over Jerusalem, in the public square and on the streets, before he died for us on the cross. If we are to take up our crosses and follow Jesus, should we not also love others as he loved us in our public squares, in our offices, on the streets and sidewalks, in our cars on the highway, and so on and so forth?

This week before you act: stop, think, love.