“Beloved, let us love one another…” (1 John 4) Some days, especially lately, I want to shout these words for the entire world to hear. Injustice, discrimination, and violence are everywhere, and some days it seems like all we hear about in the news are words of blame, hate, and judgment. We’re not so good about loving one another, that much seems pretty clear. For whatever reason, it’s often easier for us to see that which we hate in the “other”—neighbor, enemy, stranger— rather than what is true about each one of us: that we belong to and abide in the love of Christ, no matter who we are, or where we stand on societal issues, or even what place we come from. Love isn’t easy. It’s hard work, especially when so much of the world is at odds with each other. But it’s there—it’s rooted in our crucified and risen Lord. In the one who loved us first, and who calls us to love one another rather than let our differences divide us. How might we work together to show Christ’s abiding love to the world? How might we be the hands and feet of Christ’s love, called and sent to spread that abiding love, while seeking justice and peace for our friends as well as our enemies?