Today we went to a large flea market. I am not sure why we went, as we were not looking to buy anything in particular. In fact, I just used the time to get some exercise by walking about 5 miles.
Nevertheless, dozens of vendors displayed their goods for sale. Dozens of people looked through the goods to make the perfect purchase. My wife got taken when she purchased what claimed to be a face mask, but was really only a piece of cloth.
It is fun to watch the people at these things. It is an eclectic group of people looking through an eclectic group of goods sold by an eclectic group of vendors.
I am sure that some strong relationships are built through flea markets, as those with like interests are drawn together. I am not sure, however, that these relationships go very deep. After all, they really come together over a single interest. For a relationship to deepen, people have to have and discuss values, beliefs, motivations, passions, and interests. While people don’t always agree in these area they do often support and encourage each other in these connections. I would suggest that this is called love.
But Jesus called us to a higher and deeper form of love. He gave us a series of “one-another” commands to demonstrate this type of love. They include:
- Forgive one another
- Encourage one another
- Bless one another
- Be kind to one another
- Be tenderhearted to one another
- Carry one another’s burdens
And in John 13:34 he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” The new command is not just to love one another, but to love each other as he has loved us. That is a much higher standard for love than previous commands. It requires great sacrifice on our parts.
Reluctant Retiree 