Loving others as themselves

Here I go again. God has really given me a passion for this subject lately. I have been doing some studying and researching about this subject, and it's not a new subject. It's been going on for years....thousands of years. I found this great article on Christianity.com today saying that many Americans say the biggest sin is that of intolerance. And the ones committing this sin the most, according to many Americans....Evangelical Christians! This is so frustrating to me!
As one who didn't accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior until I was 30, I can see the side of those saying this. This was one of the biggest things that scared me off from wanting anything to do with being part of a church. BUT....as I have learned and what I hold on to every day, is that it's not about other people, it's about my personal relationship with Jesus and it's between God and me! Wow! What a wonderful thought that just makes me excited that He is part of my life! That gives me comfort when I'm feeling frustrated. I grew up believing in God and Jesus, but never had that personal, intimate relationship as I do now. I just thought that by being a good person (most of the time) would get me into heaven. I must have missed reading John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" or Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Boy, was I missing out on the most loving relationship a person can have...WITH GOD! I had the head knowledge, but not the heart knowledge. I'm also not saying good deeds aren't good. Luke 6:45 says, "A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." When you are living your life for Jesus and He is in your heart, you will want to do good for Him.
I had a great conversation with one of my closest friends last night. We were talking about how people act one way while at church or around other Christians and then act totally different any other time. Let me just say, I know I am guilty of this myself. The reason I do this, is because I feel like I'm being judged/watched and if I say one wrong thing, people will judge me and think I'm a bad person. My heart and desire is for people to be more aware of this. I, for one, want to be myself and be accepted as I am. This gets difficult...on both sides. We are to be like Christ and act like Christ. The problem: we are human. If we didn't have this issue, Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross to cover our "human-ness". (or sins)
Whew! So what do we do with all of this? I pray that people would stop "acting" for other people, but strive to do the right thing because God is watching them and sees their actions...and their heart. On the flip side. I pray that people would stop judging others for their sins. We all have sin in our lives. “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Matt. 7:1-5
I pray that all who live for Jesus can be encouragement to each other, love each other, and be light and salt to those that do not have that relationship with Jesus, so that they too will want to know Jesus.

For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10: 10 and 13 NLT
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13: 34 and 35