In John 17, Jesus prayed that Christians would love each other. At the beginning of the 21st century, this remained Jesus’s great unanswered prayer. It’s not that God didn’t answer Jesus’s prayer, but that some prayers can only be answered by people.
Though God calls us to solitude at times, Christians need meaningful friendships with each other. Many of these are peer-to-peer while others are senior-junior relationships where one person is the “older sibling” helping along the younger, but everyone can learn from everyone.
The Bible commands us to love all people. “All people” includes everyone. But, petty squabbles between sectarian Christians seem to get a pass. Somehow, “Churchianity” Christians work it out in their minds so that this topic or that question or this other fact is some kind of an exception—some kind of an “excuse card” giving them license to fight and hate. That’s when you know someone has been swallowed up by a culture of “religious feelings” and understands nothing about the Bible.
When you see a Christian who thinks it’s acceptable to be disrespectful to anyone for any reason, to pass judgment before holding a thorough in-depth, face-to-face conversation, to be dismissive, to condescend while teaching, or to refuse general communication with other Christians—that person is the lowest of the low in Christian maturity and should be treated as a non-Christian in need of meeting Jesus for the first time. That person needs love as much as repentance, but isn’t ready for “Christian fellowship”, even as a junior, because welcoming basic love comes first.
Christians are a family, which includes people who annoy others. Siblings can easily be frustrating. When one family member snaps at another, that “snapping” does not address a problem in the recipient, but reveals a problem with the person who snapped. We all have our moments of folly, recognize yours and never make excuses.
Christians believe in the Jesus who answers prayer—the same Jesus who prayed that Christians would love one another and love all people, including enemies. Whatever ideas or notions lead you away from love are a lie from the pit of Hell. We all snap, but it is never excusable, never.
John 13:34-35; 17, 1 John 4:7-8