How hard it is to be Christians today. There seems to be a force out there that is determined to stifle our best efforts. From gossip to heresy we have a hard time separating ourselves from the clutches of the evils of the world. For instance, the other day I was asked to help someone fill out some government papers. Now I have my own feelings about government paperwork, it could be easier or nonexistent, but I agreed. I didn’t know the answers to the personal questions and had to rely on the knowledge of the one being asked. "So, it asks here if you have any dependents?" I asked. "You don’t, right?""Well, my sister’s daughter stays with me sometimes. Can I claim her?" "No," I said, "she can’t count."OK, well, I have supported many causes in the past, does that count?""No, can’t count that either," I said. This was going to be hard work."Well," she said, "I guess I have no dependents, then." "OK, moving on." I glanced at her face. She was crying."It’s OK, you don’t HAVE to have dependents to get these services," I said."But God may find me unworthy," she said, "and I want God to find me useful so I can live a longer life."Isn’t it true how we try to place God’s love for us in human terms? Loving God and living for God cannot be measured by our earthly lives. Loving God means loving your neighbor. Loving God means going to sleep each night knowing you have done all you can do to be a good caring person. Loving God means taking that extra step in the grocery store to help another shopper get an item. It means looking for ways to be God’s hands, feet and lips in this world. Not how much you have or who you live with. Not how much money you have or how many kids you have. But loving God is manifested in a life of being there when you are needed. Of asking that question, "Who is my neighbor?" and living as if your neighbor were as important (or more sometimes) as you are.Go outside the doors of your church. Go out into the world and touch the lives of your neighbors and see how loving God really looks. It is not contained in an hour on Sunday morning and it is not always in reading scripture. It is in living for others that we discover ways to love God. Not in how many dependents we support or how often we put a dollar in the collection. It is in loving our neighbor that really counts.