So...I've been having a bit of trouble lately with this command.
I normally get along with basically everyone. But I have this awesome friend who loves the Lord and is growing in her spiritual walk with Him, but - I just don't get along with her. I don't think it's even her fault. In all honesty, it's probably a matter of my pride more than anything else.
That being said - "love one another" is something that keeps coming to my mind. I tell myself I love her in Christ even though my flesh disagrees, but - do I? I know most of the time, even though I can usually put on a show outwardly, inside I really don't love her the way I need to. And if I'm not showing God's love to her, then I'm not following His commands.
So keeping this in mind, I went over to 1st John and I read through it, underlining every time the words "love," "loveth," and "loved" appeared. Today I did the same thing in 2nd and 3rd John. Guess what? In all 3 books (which is only 7 chapters) those 3 little words occurred 49 times. 45 of those were found in 1st John (5 chapters). So love is kind of a central theme.
A phrase that appeared more than once was: "Love one another." But we aren't just commanded to love each other. We have a reason for loving. And that of course is because Christ loved us enough to make the ultimate sacrifice - giving up His sinless life for His sinful creation. I could go on basically all day about how incredible that is, and what a wonderful God we have. And those are both fantastic truths. But what does God's love mean if we don't do anything with it? How can you show the world His amazing love if you're keeping it to yourself? How does it prove how incredible and life-changing that love is if we are only loving those who are easy to love? That's no different from the world. Unsaved people can love those who are easy to love.
Now that I've had these truths brought to mind once more, am I automatically filled with an overwhelming feeling of love for my friend? Well, not really. But it does mean that I have once again been reminded that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13), and that love is not just a feeling - it's also a choice. I'm choosing to love my friend in spite of not yet having much of the feeling. Making the choice to follow God's command is the first step - He can supply the feeling aterwards.
So - if you want to show the world what one way that God's love can change people is, you have to love everyone, not just the easy-to-love people. Because loving when it's not easy - that's different love. That's supernatural love.
That's God's love.
I've been pondering myself about love lately, how it's not just a feeling but a choice and the way you act. How it makes absolutely no logical sense unless there is a God of Love. It's so cool to think about!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck with your friend! I feel your struggle.
That is so true. It can be a really great testimony of our Lord when we respond the right way to hard situations. I definitely have a long way to go, though!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your empathy. I'll be praying for you. Thanks for commenting!
Treating everybody with love must be separated, I think, from feeling love towards everybody. The former is something you can control with conscious considerations of your behaviour; the latter, I think, is another matter entirely. Sometimes, people just don't get on with other people, for whatever reason, whether it be a difference in beliefs and values, differences in personality or whatever else. As long as you treat them with love and do not feel hatred towards them, I do not believe it is something to be ashamed of. I naturally do not mean you should be pretending to feel something you are not, but you can treat someone with love without implying you feel very close to them, if that makes sense. :)
ReplyDelete[Also, please, ignore the blog this is commented from. It's very old]
I agree, to an extent. We won't always feel loving towards others. But real love honestly isn't just about how we feel. It goes deeper than that. But I do agree, showing love is something we can definitely do with everyone. Yes, I believe it does make sense. :)
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