Scripture Reference: John 3:16, 14:15, Luke 10:27, Romans 5:6-8 Ezekiel 33:11 Matthew 5:44-48
It is hard to imagine loving someone who has betrayed your trust, exploited your kindness, abused you mentally, physically, emotionally, and made a mockery of your cares and concerns by demonstrating a total disregard for your feelings. It's even harder to conceive of loving someone who hates you, despises you, who longs to see your existence wiped from the face of the earth - and if it was possible, they would be more than willing and capable of doing so. Overcoming the pain from such an ordeal and not despising the person causing such affliction is a formidable task in of itself.
Now imagine experiencing that pain, several billion times over, across several millennia - that is the pain that was experienced by Jesus Christ on the cross that fateful day at Calvary. That is the hurt that God experiences when we sin, when His children turn away from Him, reject his son, Jesus Christ, and reject the gift of salvation - even after all that God has done for us. And yet, He continues to still love us, providing for us, calling out for us, longing for us to turn from our wicked ways and turn towards him - with open arms! A testament to how great God's love is towards us is the grace and mercy that he extends to us, over and over again - in spite of us!
It's hard to love that cantankerous co-worker who never speaks in the morning, no matter how many times you've tried to be nice; it’s even harder loving that co-worker who shakes your hand or wishes you a wonderful morning as they stab you in the back, including the manager that is planning to fire you that day. It's hard to love that rebellious teenager who’s acting out their own modern interpretation of "The Prodigal Son" - rebelling against you in your own home. It's hard to love that insensitive, argumentative spouse who tramples on your feelings on a regular basis. It's hard to love the lady in the congregation who embraces you as a brother or sister in Christ - and can't wait to gossip on the phone about your problems after service is over. It's hard to love that person in traffic who cut you off and nearly sideswiped you as they flip you the finger. It's hard to love that neighbor who blasts the home stereo into the wee hours of the morning every weekend. It's hard to love (fill in blank here)...
...and yet we are mandated by Christ himself to do so!
Just as Christ demonstrated his love for God and man, through obedience unto death upon the Cross that we might be redeemed, we are also obligated as Christians to do the same. We love God because He first loved us; we are to love each other because our love for Him is demonstrated through our obedience to Him. If we love Christ, we will keep his commandments to love - no matter how much it hurts. For as much as it hurts us to do so at times, we should consider the fact that once upon a time, were also the unlovable. We should also remember that every act committed as a result of our sinful nature became a lash across his back, a thorn in the flesh of his scalp, and a strike of the hammer on the nail in his hands and feet. While we cannot even come close to repaying this debt of love, we are to honor Christ by fulfilling our obligation to loving others - including the ones that seem unlovable.
It is hard to imagine loving someone who has betrayed your trust, exploited your kindness, abused you mentally, physically, emotionally, and made a mockery of your cares and concerns by demonstrating a total disregard for your feelings. It's even harder to conceive of loving someone who hates you, despises you, who longs to see your existence wiped from the face of the earth - and if it was possible, they would be more than willing and capable of doing so. Overcoming the pain from such an ordeal and not despising the person causing such affliction is a formidable task in of itself.
Now imagine experiencing that pain, several billion times over, across several millennia - that is the pain that was experienced by Jesus Christ on the cross that fateful day at Calvary. That is the hurt that God experiences when we sin, when His children turn away from Him, reject his son, Jesus Christ, and reject the gift of salvation - even after all that God has done for us. And yet, He continues to still love us, providing for us, calling out for us, longing for us to turn from our wicked ways and turn towards him - with open arms! A testament to how great God's love is towards us is the grace and mercy that he extends to us, over and over again - in spite of us!
It's hard to love that cantankerous co-worker who never speaks in the morning, no matter how many times you've tried to be nice; it’s even harder loving that co-worker who shakes your hand or wishes you a wonderful morning as they stab you in the back, including the manager that is planning to fire you that day. It's hard to love that rebellious teenager who’s acting out their own modern interpretation of "The Prodigal Son" - rebelling against you in your own home. It's hard to love that insensitive, argumentative spouse who tramples on your feelings on a regular basis. It's hard to love the lady in the congregation who embraces you as a brother or sister in Christ - and can't wait to gossip on the phone about your problems after service is over. It's hard to love that person in traffic who cut you off and nearly sideswiped you as they flip you the finger. It's hard to love that neighbor who blasts the home stereo into the wee hours of the morning every weekend. It's hard to love (fill in blank here)...
...and yet we are mandated by Christ himself to do so!
Just as Christ demonstrated his love for God and man, through obedience unto death upon the Cross that we might be redeemed, we are also obligated as Christians to do the same. We love God because He first loved us; we are to love each other because our love for Him is demonstrated through our obedience to Him. If we love Christ, we will keep his commandments to love - no matter how much it hurts. For as much as it hurts us to do so at times, we should consider the fact that once upon a time, were also the unlovable. We should also remember that every act committed as a result of our sinful nature became a lash across his back, a thorn in the flesh of his scalp, and a strike of the hammer on the nail in his hands and feet. While we cannot even come close to repaying this debt of love, we are to honor Christ by fulfilling our obligation to loving others - including the ones that seem unlovable.
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