Only Love can do that...

When asked which of the ten commandments were most important, Jesus answered, "Love God above all else and Love your neighbor as yourself." If we follow these, he said, all others will fall in place.
Everything he taught revolved around our understanding love of God and loving our neighbor. He taught concepts far from Jewish tradition - that God was universal. He taught that God was present and no one was excluded from God. His life was an example of giving hope and healing to all.
Somewhere in the re-counting of his message, exclusion was added back in. Followers found many ways to divide us into God and Godless people. Renewal of the ideal of being "God's chosen people" gave authority to act on God's behalf to punish those not displaying the same beliefs.
The separation causes great barriers to following the two commandments. If God is separate and choosing some over others, the entire mission of Jesus falls apart. How can we love in a way that God does not?
If God chooses some above others, if God saves some and not others, how can we possibly love unconditionally ourselves?
The only possible conclusion is that we have some of it right and some of it wrong. So, which part is it that we have wrong?
It's pretty easy to understand, yet very hard to do, the love your neighbor as yourself part. We are supposed to put ourselves in their shoes. We're supposed to approach our interactions with them with compassion. We're supposed to help each other in all ways imaginable. We need to see that with a long term vision.
But how can we do this if someone is Godless - not right with God? Therein lies the problem. Where is God? Who is God? What is God?
We have to stop viewing God as a separate being with a big beard living somewhere in the sky pulling strings and pointing a finger. God is everywhere. God is everyone. God is everything.
God lives in love - universal love. A love that does no harm - a love that generates more - a love that creates more.
Talk of love as the creator - the creator in us is God.
How can the maker of a bomb, the murderer, the greedy, the criminal be seen in this light? Somewhere in their lives they stopped believing in love. Somewhere in their lives, someone needs to re-awaken it. Only love can do that. Our job is to have faith that it is already there because God is everywhere, in everyone, always and forever.
It does not matter how you name it. It does not matter if you believe it. The power of love is a universal truth.