LOVING GOD'S WAY

Matthew 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

I’m sure you’ve had people who have come into your lives that you’ve given your best but felt as if you were taken for granted. I submit that all of us—from parents to teachers to doctors to leaders in the military to pastors—have felt this way before. Once we’re hurt by someone, it tends to cause us to be guarded around others to the point that some interpret our behavior as “impersonal.” Contrary to the views of others, many of these individuals aren’t “stuck up” or trying to be sophisticated, but people who have crossed their paths have wounded them to the point that they’re simply protecting their hearts.

At the same time that many of us are guarding our hearts, there is the Scriptural mandate to love everyone unconditionally. Listen to the words of Jesus:
Matthew 5:43-"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

A friend of mine and I were talking about this passage and he said to me, “It almost seems unfair!” The question becomes, “How can we obey this mandate without getting our feelings hurt continuously and our hearts broken on a repetitive basis?” The answer is to focus on giving love and not receiving it or to focus on loving others without expecting anything in return. Jesus suggested that even the worst of individuals can love folks that love them! (Matthew 5:46) The type of love that Jesus is describing in the above passage is agape or unconditional love. Agape love says, “whether or not you love me, I’m going to love you; and whether or not you treat me right, I’m going to do what God has required me to do.”

The Living Bible’s Translation of Matthew 5:45 says that when you love unconditionally, “…you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven….” I’m not saying that this is easy! But I’m informing you that it is commanded which means we can do it! Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

There will be those who will hurt us, but the law of reciprocity teaches that God will raise up someone to appreciate us for who we are and they too will love you with God’s Kind of Love. The exhortation today is to love others unconditionally.

Let’s Pray:
“Father, help us to love others unconditionally. Help us to focus on the act of giving love and not receiving it, in Jesus’ Name, amen.”

Daily Prayer:
“Oh, that You would bless me indeed,
and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me,
and that You would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain!”
The Prayer of Jabez, I Chronicles 4:10