And the Greatest of These is Love

I've been consistently frustrated lately by what I view as the failure of Christians to act like Christians.

Let me first disclaimer this a bit and admit that I fully recognize I've got a bit of "Ignoring the Plank in my Own Eye" syndrome. Definitely. Completely. The more frustrated I get with others, the more I'm trying to look at myself (degrees of success vary) and determine if I'm really doing as well as I think I am. Generally I'm not. It's ironic, the more frustrated I get with the lack of love I see from Christians, the more critical I get, and thus the less loving.
So yes, this isn't a point-the-finger-why-can't-you-be-more-like-me writing. I know I have many many shortcomings. But still. I'm going to express my frustration.

Jesus tells us very clearly what the most important commandments are.
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
and
'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

In case you're wondering if they're really the most important, Jesus follows up his answer with:
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

These two. Love God, Love others. Really simple. Really hard.
Well, we make it hard. I guess. Because honestly, I think we Christians fail consistently at loving. We let pride, scheduling, and our own priorities get in the way. We are self-centered and as a result, we miss out on being what we're supposed to be.

Its no wonder the much of the world has a low opinion of Christians. Yes, I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that many of our moral believes go against the ideas of society, but still, I don't think we present love first. Yes, we need to hold on to our believes, yes, I think abortion is wrong, no, I do not support gay marriage. But first we need to love.
I feel like many Christians base what the "right" action is by what society is telling them Christians believe, rather than going to the Bible to see what God has to say. Maybe its just me, but this seems like a really horrible idea.

I have a lot of thoughts. I'm trying to organize them. I've been ranting a lot lately.

I guess my point is this: we are called to live lives of love. This means sacrificing watching movies to listen to people who are having a hard time, this means acting to help the poor, even if that just means sorting through your clothes and donating them. It means giving twenty minutes of sleep to God before you go to bed each night, spending time study his word. It just means acting, moving, doing. Trying to restore his kingdom.

"Luv is a verb" as dcTalk says. Do it.