John 5:41-44
“I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?”
“Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.”
We learn about God’s love by spending time with him. It is best shared person to person. Groups are handicapped by diverse points of view which produces conflict. Our self likes jostling to be king of the mountain, with others argued into submission. Learning to resolve conflict with love requires the opposite, exchanging our point of view for God’s. We grow to covet God, not the mountaintop.
Lord, grace me to seek your point of view. Make me wise so I may serve. May I ever love you more than accolades and so doing love my brother.