When others do things that go against our beliefs they become very difficult to love. And yet, Jesus tells us that loving others is what he expects of us. Love is the essence of our faith. It is to be unconditional, sacrificial and never ending. But, let's be honest, there are times when loving others is not easy. Shoot, with some folks it's hard to get to "liking," much less loving!

Take the story of the Berlin Wall when it had just been erected. In the early days of the famous Wall, hostilities flared when truckloads of stinking garbage were dumped from East Berlin into West Berlin. Many residents wrote to the mayor demanding revenge for this offense, but he responded in a unique way. He asked the people to gather all the flowers in West Berlin and bring them to a certain place at the wall. Then as a great avalanche of beautiful and fragrant flowers was poured over the wall, a large banner was raised. Written on the banner were the words: "We each give what we have."