A blissful sheep farm with a vineyard...

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It really feels like the world's going down the drain; or going to hell in a handbasket as our American friends would very aptly describe it.  Violence, war, conflict, protests, sadness, isolation, genocide, injustice, illness, depression, oppression, hate, cruelty, fear, pain...  The list goes on...  And that's only within the church...  The rest of the world looks even worse.
It seems to easy to lose hope in the face of current affairs.  Is there any way we can turn this around?  Are our opinions so vastly different that there is no conceivable way of reconciliation at all?  Is there no way we can ever stand together as human beings again?
I'm pretty frustrated at the moment.  People annoy me.  I can totally see myself living on a farm somewhere remote, taking care of animals (sheep, most likely), drinking wine made from grapes of my own vineyard and working hard to provide for my immediate family...  Bliss...   If only it was up to me alone.
God calls us (unfortunately, I sometimes feel) to love Him and love one another.  We have to love other people.  God wants us to.  If what God wants matter to you, you'll need to take this to heart.  Should we love even those who are undeserving of love?  Yes.  Even those who annoy me?  Yes.  Even those who do not think about things the same way I do?  Yes.  Even those who don't love me?  Yes.  Even those who hate me...  Yes.  You get the picture.  We're told to love everyone;  even the unlovable.  'Nuff said...
If what God wants doesn't really matter to you, then I think you should love people all the same.  It was Albert Einstein who said:  "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."  He also said:  "Insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."  We created all the problems we're facing today.  We won't solve them by thinking the same way and doing the same things we did to create them.
We created wars, poverty, injustice, etc. because of hate and selfishness (yes, even the wars started "in the name of God").  We won't end them by selfishly hating more efficient.  We end it by thinking about people in a new way:  We love instead of hate.  We put others first instead of ourselves.  We'll need a reason, though, because it's not the most natural or easiest thing for us to do.  We'll need a motivator.  For me this will be because I believe Jesus Christ calls me to love instead of hate.  I'll give the sheep farm and vineyard a pass because I believe He wants me to be in a position where I can love people better.

What will your motivation be?  To leave a better world for all our children?  To give nature a fighting chance against human influence?  To prove Einstein right?  To avoid the inevitable effects not caring will have on yourself?  To love and be loved?  Whatever it is, I hope that you will be enabled to love without limits, so that all of us can live peacefully, healthily and freely.

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