“One of the most important things about life is the way you treat people.”

I learned so much from my mom when I was growing up. She is full of wisdom, and she would share little nuggets of wisdom with us as situations arose.

This is the one I remember her hitting home the most…at least with me. I remember her telling me this quite a bit. I probably needed to hear it a lot. :). But I never really grasped the truth and importance of this statement until the last few years or so.

So how should we treat people? As a kid, I thought the answer was to just be nice. Not mean. But now I know that’s not enough. That’s not the answer. The answer is that we are to love everyone and act in love. To look beyond our own desires and do what it takes to make others feel loved and important.

People are deeply longing to be loved. They yearn to feel accepted and loved. And the best way for us to share Christ with others is for us to show them love. Love is radical. Love is contagious. Love shines bright in a world of darkness and points to our loving Savior.

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God. The second is to love others.

So the greatest thing we can do in life is to love people. To treat people as if they are accepted and loved just the way they are.

My mom is a smart woman. 🙂