I live in a politically diverse state. This is a bad thing because it means we get an abundance of political commercials that try to sway our vote. This is a good thing because it means we live next to and work with and talk to people who disagree on government policies, but we can rally around our love of the same football team, cheese curds, and the first 40-degree spring day.

Mind if I’m honest? Sometimes it feels like the citizens of God’s kingdom behave worse than the citizens of my home state. We get all riled up about all sorts of issues and forget that we can rally around our love of Jesus—and Jesus’ love for us.

This was happening back when the early Christian church was forming, and they needed to be reminded: “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:14,15).

Now, I’m not suggesting that we ignore all of our differences. After all, one of the reasons that the letter to the people in Galatia was written was to hold believers accountable lovingly. Still, today is a good day to pause and remember to love one another, to pray for all the people who believe in Jesus, to defend them, and to speak well of them.