I’m realizing more and more how vital love is to human existence. It is the cornerstone of all of our relationships. What does it mean to really love people? Does it matter our intentions when they don’t perceive our actions as loving? What is our responsibility in making sure that how we feel is felt by others?

At the beginning of Luke 12 we see that all of these people have come to hear Jesus speak. They have come from miles around, perhaps some of them have traveled for days to see this man speak about loving their enemies and community. I can imagine that there was a sense of anticipation as they traveled to see Jesus, the anticipation of what would happen when they reached their destination was growing inside of them. I don’t know about you, but when I am anticipating something, I get really excited. It seems to grow inside of me until I can hardly contain myself. I’m so focused on what is about to happen, that I can hardly concentrate on anything else.

These people are so excited to see Him speak that they trample others in the process. Then, Jesus tells His disciples to beware of hypocracy. How does this relate to the mob of people running to see Jesus?

I think so often we are so concerned about where we’re going, who we’re about to see, the work we’re about to do, that it doesn’t matter how people feel in the process. We are so concerned about the destination or our life mission [regardless of how worthwhile the destination is], it doesn’t matter who we push, elbow or trip as we hurry on our way. And as long as we feel like we are adequately showing love to people, we are satisfied. We live in such a way where we rate how we’re doing on loving others by how we feel and our intentions rather than the fruit of our actions.

How can we be in relationships with the people in our lives in a way that truly make them feel loved? Where it’s not about how I feel about my actions, but how they are perceived. In a way where we care enough about the people around us that rather than thinking about the easiest and the quickest way you can show love, we take the time to step back and look at how we live and how they need to be loved and act on that instead. It doesn’t matter how loving I feel, if people around me aren’t receiving what is intended for them. If they aren’t getting it, then I need to change how I am acting, and not expect them to decipher my actions. I want to live in a way where life is less about me and more about how people feel when they are around me.