Love Your Neighbor. The end.

Some days, I think when we hear God say the words "love your neighbor" - we assume God's not finished with that sentence yet. We stand there, with withering patience, waiting for him to just finish that command.

Come on God, spit it out already. Love your neighbor, except for...

Well, God never said it. God never added exceptions to that command because there are none.

Zero.

I think many of us lost patience waiting on God to finish that sentence. We didn't stick around long enough to come to grips with the simple point that, for God, neighbor was all inclusive. Like, everyone included.

Every.

One.

So we walked away and decided to do God a big fat favor. We love doing God favors when it makes life more convenient for us. We walked away and decided we'd figure out the exceptions for him. Surely we know enough about love to decide who deserves it and who doesn't.

And what we are left with, many days, is a world that is focused on the exceptions to love and not the love itself.

Exceptions like how we allow ourselves to talk unlovingly to one another if we're from different political parties or religions.

Exceptions reflected in how we unlovingly allow some people in this world to have food and clothes and shelter, while lovingly provide for those who are not the except-fors in our lives.

Exceptions in how some people are lovingly provided care for their mental and physical illnesses while the except fors suffer on. Suffer on, that is, until they can no longer handle the pain.

There are people who become except-fors because of who and how they love.

There are except-fors who get shot while they run simply because the color of their skin became an exception.

When God said love your neighbor and stopped right there, it was us who couldn't handle the all inclusive nature of that command, and not a God who was too busy to speak in complete sentences that day.

It's us that some days finds it easier to BELIEVE in God than to BE LIKE God. Because God - God is love.

You know why I'm most grateful God cut that sentence off right where he did. I'm grateful for that because I should be an except for. When God said love them all, every one of them, he wanted to make sure I knew I was included in that love, especially on the days when I'm just positive there's no way I could be.

He made sure I knew I wasn't an exception so I'd go into this world in return and love without exception.

The truth is, many days I don't do that well. Many days I'm out there focusing on the except fors and not the love. Many days I let my superficial snapshots of people filter my willingness to love them. And oh I know - it is a willing to issue and not a question of ability to.

God said there are no filters to love. None.

God said when you're having a hard time loving someone, you have a heart problem. The problem isn't cured by deciding you've found another except for. The problem gets cured by reminding yourself God finished that sentence. The period is there.

Love your neighbor.

That's it.