Little Children

I heard a story once, maybe you've heard it as well, that comes from ancient Church tradition.

The Apostle John was Jesus' best friend on earth. The Bible even calls John the disciple Jesus loved. Of course, Jesus loves all men, but John held a special place in Jesus' heart as a dear brother. John would later go on to speak with a flaming tongue of fire over his head at Pentecost, and he would perform healings on earth very similar to how Jesus did. This warrior of the faith, along with the other disciples, spread the Gospel throughout the country and established Christ's body--the Church. He would go on to write several of the epistles found in the New Testament that we still study today. Also, it is a common belief that he wrote the book of Revelation after seeing the vision of the apocalypse.
John--preacher, teacher, miracle worker, witness of visions, disciple of Christ, pioneer of the Church. If there is anyone that I would like to sit at their feet and learn from, it would be John.
Years after Christ's crucifixion, John was exiled to the island of Patmos as a punishment for his preaching. However, his preaching would not be silenced, and he established his own Church on that far away island. It was there that John grew older and older and lived out his last days, all the while preaching the good news of Christ.
It is believed that John grew so old that he could no longer carry himself to stand in front of his congregation. Therefore, the men of the Church would carry him up front and place him in a chair facing the body of believers. As he looked out at the people much like a shepherd over a flock, John would muster all the strength left in his old, decrepit body to speak one last message. I'm sure he would reminisce over Jesus' teachings and times he spent with the Lord. He would remember all the other churches he planted and the visions he had seen and the letters he had written, the times he had been beaten and bruised for his faith.
This man of God who had accomplished so much and had so much knowledge that he was capable of imparting to his people would muster all his strength to say one sentence over and over to his flock. This one sentence would suffice as his sermon week after week repeated over and over. He would simply say,
"Little children, love each other...Little children, love each other."
I can almost hear his old, fading voice saying.
"Little children, love each other."
I can, also, see a slight smile come across his face as he remembers the tax collector and the zealot's first encounter, and he whispers,
"Little children, love each other," and he believes its possible.

In John's mind all his doctrine and theology and experiences that he wished to impart onto his followers could be summed up in that one sentence: Little children, love each other.
Why are we spending so much time reading the Bible, praying, tithing, worshipping, merely attending, debating, disagreeing, getting offended, dividing, and going through our everyday motions while missing the point that was central to John and to Jesus: "Little Children, love each other."

Who do you need to start loving?

Please, let us love each other, so that we can be true followers of Christ.