This week, we have read, watched and listened to the news of the horrific shooting in Orlando. Whether it was an act of terrorism or an act of ugly hate, 49 people lost their lives at the hands of one evil man. I won’t name him here. He deserves no recognition.

It’s easy to hate this human being who so callously killed all those people — friends and strangers celebrating life just moments before.

But should we?

God tells us to love our neighbor.

He mentions love quite a few times throughout the Bible. The word “love” is in the King James version 310 times. That’s 131 times in the Old Testament and 179 times in the New Testament.

Jesus said we are to be fishers of men. All men. Not just the ones we think are deserving of God’s love, or those we agree with.

Loving your neighbor on the pew behind you is easy. It’s loving someone who has hurt your heart that’s tough.

We should all loudly condemn the hatred that took place in Orlando. But while we are at it, we should all loudly condemn the hatred that is in us.

Every day, we turn our backs on people who need to hear the Gospel. By not offering them a plan for their salvation, are we showing them hate?

Athiest Penn Jillette of the magic duo of Penn & Teller tells the story of meeting a fan at one of his shows years ago. The man held up a small New Testament, one of those small enough to fit in a person’s pocket that also includes Psalms. The man told Jillette he’d written in the front of it, and he wanted the magician to have it. The man explained that he was a businessman and not crazy.

Jillette recalled that the stranger had a kindness about him, and looked him in the eyes when he talked to him. “And then he gave me this Bible,” he said.

It didn’t change Jillette’s beliefs. He’s still an atheist. But he’s an atheist who respects this Christian man for doing what all Christians should do. That man showed love, and not hate, for someone he knew didn’t share his beliefs. He didn’t damn Jillette to hell for having a different set of faiths and values. He didn’t condemn him. He shared the Gospel, as he was told to do by our Almighty God.

Jillette explained: “I’ve always said, I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think it’s not really worth it telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, how much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

We are to be fishers of men.

Share God’s word with others.

Don’t hate.

Love.

It’s not easy to look someone in the eye whose lifestyle you don’t agree with and tell them that you love them. But we will never change someone’s mind with hate. We will never convince them that God can change their lives when we don’t show them love and compassion regardless of their lifestyle choices or beliefs.

I pray that out of this tragedy comes redemption. People are coming together to work side by side helping one another. The same thing happened after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. So many volunteers and neighbors helping neighbors. The beauty and wonder of humanity can even unite strangers if we let it.

Christians must reach their hands out to help, to show the love of Christ to someone who desperately needs to feel loved, not just in times of tragedy, but every day.

1 Corinthians 13:13 says: “Now these three remain — faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Donna Campbell is managing editor of The Daily Leader. Contact her at donna.campbell@dailyleader.com.