Scripture teaches us over and over again that we are to be like Jesus, and our Heavenly Father. We were created in the image of God, and then we are instructed to love as God loves, pray as Jesus prays, and among many other examples, we are instructed to forgive as they forgive. These things lead us towards becoming perfect as God is perfect… which is what we have been instructed to be. Yet, given our damaged human nature doesn’t the thought of failing to be perfect frighten us?
When we forgive someone who has wronged us do we actually forgive them as we should? Oh, we might say the words, hug one another, kiss, shake hands, and even shed tears, but do we put our differences completely behind us? Do we forgive, and then choose not to remember their iniquities; putting them out of our minds, never to be thought of again? Do we separate ourselves from them as God does?
One of the hardest commandments that Jesus spoke to us regarding love is for us to love our enemies, and pray for them. It seems unnatural to love someone who seeks your demise, or wants to harm you in some way. For an unbelieving man this is truly impossible. When we read these words we wonder if loving our enemy is a sacrifice we are asked to make in order to change this person in some way, but as we study these verses we come to understand that by obeying Jesus we are actually refining our own faith, because without knowing, and leaning heavily on the Lord, then loving someone who hates us would be impossible for us to accomplish.
We are a lot like Moses when it comes to delivering the Gospel message. We question our ability with the same excuses which he used… we begin with saying that we are not the right person for the job and that God has obviously made a mistake by asking us to do this. Do you remember the universal excuse that Moses used, and that we are often guilty of employing?
Have you ever met someone that you have never known before, but have instantly recognized as a Christian? Before the first word was spoken, or introduction had been made, was there something that drew you to them as if your meeting had been planned all along? What is it that occurs at such moments? As certainly as we have physical appearances that our eyes recognize, we also have spiritual presences that one’s spirit recognizes in another. Do you believe this?
As Christians we have a weapon in our spiritual arsenal that can overcome every instrument of harm that the world can throw against us. We might think it is the power of God’s right arm, or perhaps the wisdom we have received that allows us to outthink the plans of anyone who comes against us, and any situation we find ourselves in, but the weapon we possess is mightier than these; our greatest weapon is the ability to love. When we love as God, and Jesus, love us, then we can disarm our enemies, and stand strong against every obstacle in life. We not only overcome our adversaries, but we transform them in the process. In this way we are using love to conquer the world as we should?
As we study and dig into God’s Word we often stumble upon truths that seem to be hidden in the most interesting, and often obscure, places. Today, as I was reading Romans 5, in support of my morning devotional, I found just such a treasure… a pearl of great value that had escaped me previously. Romans 5 begins with a discussion of faith, but tucked into the fifth verse we receive a revelation regarding God’s love. This verse reveals to us the source of His love in us. So, if we are struggling with love in our lives, and wrestling with how to obey the commandments dealing with it, then this is our help… are we loving as we should?
Have we reached a conclusion as to what brought us to love Jesus Christ, and to believe Him to be our Savior? Was it the love he has for us that fueled the fire of our faith in Him? Was it how He spoke wisdom as He delivered the beatitudes? Was it one of the miracles He performed? Well, there have been many great teachers through the years, many men who have thrilled people with amazing acts, and doctors who have healed the sick, but there is only one man, Jesus Christ, that loved us enough to take on our sins, and who then gave His own life for us… to redeem all of fallen mankind from sin and death. It is this immense love that should control us, and bring us to our knees in belief. In this we love Him with all our hearts, and realize that we owe Him our lives; it is His love for us that has sparked our faith, and stoked its fire in us. Is this the conclusion we have reached regarding our faith in Jesus?
God loves us, and if we believe this completely, and abide in His love, then God will abide in us. We all want to be loved, but are we loving God, Jesus, and all those around us as we should? Are we loving our families, friends, neighbors, and even our enemies? Love is not to be confused with tolerance. God doesn’t tolerate us when we don’t know Him, not in our disbelief, or while we are yet sinners, no, he loves us in spite of it, and deals with us lovingly regarding our lack of relationship with Him, and our sinful nature. This is how we should love others, by loving them just as God loves us, striving to know their hearts, and repairing our distant or broken relationships with them by speaking God, and Jesus Christ into their lives.
When we who have been lost, or have wandered astray, turn back to the Lord, He reestablishes us in our faith. Every day the ground in which that faith is rooted becomes richer through the application of His Word that fertilizes it, and through His love which fills our lives with His goodness and mercy. He pours himself out like a gentle rain to nourish us through His grace which flows like living water through Jesus Christ, and by the understanding of His will for us that His Holy Spirit gives. When we look about us we see a broken world that is lost, but the Lord has been waiting patiently for us to sow the seeds of righteousness within it, and to turn its wayward inhabitants back towards Him by pulling at their leads. Are we ready to stop wringing our hands in despair, and start breaking ground? It is time for all believers to begin sowing the seeds of the gospel of Jesus once more.
As we hear the greatest commandment which is to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths, do we get so absorbed in doing this that we forget the second great commandment, or fail to give it the attention we should? Do we not love our neighbor, and one another, as we should, with the love that God has instilled in us for them? In this bitter world where people distrust one another, hate with reckless abandon, and place themselves above all others, it is easy to see how even a Christian might be tempted to find loving others in this manner to be impossible, and retreat back into the first great commandment where they can love God who loves them so perfectly. Yet we do not love as we are personally able, but with the love that God has given us… the ability that Jesus speaks of allows us to love one another without fail.
The apostle Paul is a reminder to us that Christians suffer in this world, that bad things can happen to good people, and that there are those who will hate us because of our faith, just as Jesus said they would. But, he also demonstrates for us how to endure these hardships, and to use them to advance the gospel of Jesus, and the Word of God.
We might say “Get thee behind me Satan” when in fretful desperation we stand on the verge of yielding to temptation, but how long have we entertained the allure of that sin before we have reached this moment, and have we truly won the struggle, or does the dark one walk away having already blinded our minds, and having claimed his victory?
We are told to pray without ceasing and although many of us take this to mean precisely that, and live in a constant state of prayer, some translate this verse to mean that we are to pray regularly as if on a schedule, but how many of us adhere to even this limited regimen of prayer? Aren’t there those among us who only remember to talk with the Lord when trouble or need overwhelms them, while others are hard pressed to pray at all? Which of these describes our specific prayer life, and what is God’s desire when it comes to prayer?
When we deal in the world we expect to receive a product or service for a fair and equitable price. When we give a dollar for loaf of bread we expect that loaf to be of a certain size, and exactly what we have bargained for, but when we obey God, and do the things He has asked of us we don’t receive a fair price; no, He gives to us in abundance, and far more than we can imagine. Are we ready to answer “Here am I”, and receive the overflowing blessing of the Lord in return?