More perspectives on LOVE

Thankyou Gemma for your post yesterday on LOVE! This is such a key to everything to do with God and his kingdom!! This morning I wanted to add a few more perspectives on this overused but under practiced word.

Perspective # 1 – Love sacrifices: it is not convenient!

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he LAY DOWN HIS LIFE for his friends. John 15:12-13

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 John 3:16-17

Do I lay down my life for my brothers and sisters? Do I GIVE UP MY LIFE or do I love when I want to with my spare time and spare money??

Perspective # 2 – Who am I called to love??

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:27-28

In John 15:19 it says if we follow Jesus the world WILL hate us but if we belong to the world it will love us. So test number one is, are there people who hate me and persecute me because of Jesus? If not, maybe I am still a friend of the world (see also James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15). Test #2: do I practice love towards those who hate me?

Perspective #3 – Is my love expressed by giving out cups of tea to people on the titanic?

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM that captives will be released,
that the blind will see…” Luke 4:18

I am sending you to the Gentiles to OPEN THEIR EYES so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Acts 26:17-18

If I really love people I will declare the good news to them: that even though this ship is sinking there is a rescuer who wants to save them. If I am not telling people about Jesus, helping to bring freedom to those held captive by sin and helping to open their eyes, then am I really loving them?

So yes, Jesus command is to LOVE. And we are to love not as the world loves, but as Jesus loves. He is our example. His love is not convenient, selective or temporal. His love (through us) is sacrificial and costly, is for everyone (especially our enemies) and has an eternal perspective. And anything he asks us to do he gives us the power to do.

So let us not try harder to love today. I suggest we give up because surely it is too hard to love this way. I suggest instead that we take up our cross (die to ourselves and our own efforts) and let Jesus express this most awesome and perfect love through us!! (Galatians 2:20).