Loving in these Times

“To love the lovable is simple, to love the awkward is popular, to love the unloved is celebrated, but to love the very enemy trying to destroy you, is God given” Author Unknown.

I have found it easy to love a person who genuinely loves me back and is like minded. With family, friends, and those who are similar in my way of thinking it is easy to go out of my way to help them. However, we are starting to enter a time in human history where the common bond that keeps us all together is waning, as lawlessness grows and the desires of many grow more wicked, the love of many has grown cold. Now we know Scripture discusses this when Jesus warned of the coming days “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” Matthew 24:12.  What Jesus Christ is saying is directed at what the world is going to do, not what the Christian should be doing. I must admit the recent activities of some in my own nation have caused myself to have strong emotions, anger, fear, and resentfulness, as the craziness continues, I am reminded that this was foretold as a coming event in the Bible. We were warned that as the world grows darker and the chaos continues there would be less love for our fellow man.

So, what is a Christian to do? Are we to love unconditionally? Are we to allow the chaos to continue? What should a Christian be doing right now?

Sadly, there are many pastors and Christian leaders who are taking the approach similar with what the world would have us do. I say we go to the Word of God and see what Christ would have us do. For the word is “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” 2 Timothy 3:16. So let us look at what love in action really should be in these times and what we are told to do.

I want to take a quick moment and state the following, no matter your political thinking, ideology, nor your personal opinions on any matter, the Bible is the final authority in which all Christians are to live their life. So, let us ask the question.

What is love?

This is an interesting question due to many Christians will jump to the Greek and give you the different word choices for love. No doubt the iconic words of Christ might flash before you “love your neighbor as yourself” but there is something deeper to what love really is in these types of times. When Christ was asked, “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29. We see that Christ gave an answer basically stating anyone can be and that we are to love our fellow man. Luke 10 continues with the Good Samaritan story which I would encourage you to go and read. However, while this has its place, for all intents and purposes we are talking about the actions we are to take now with each other in these unprecedented times. This means discernment is needed as we discuss the application of such an idea of love.

So, what is love?

We see that God is love, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8. If this is so, than we can look at His actions and see what love is like. I would argue the greatest description of love in a single verse of the Bible is the popular, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. God is willing to give up His own Son for our sinful actions. He sends the perfect sacrifice for us to have the capacity for salvation. This is love, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. So this gives us the idea of love in action. Based off these three references we can infer several things. We see that God is love, He loves the entire world, and those who know Him will have love in their heart. So as the world grows darker, those who love God should shine brighter. As believers what does that mean right now? It means we are needed to have love more than ever before; our actions should be designed around God who is love.

This is a problem for the Christian since the God of the Bible is not very popular today. In fact, acting upon some of the beliefs of Jesus Christ are not just intolerable but even illegal. Yet, Jesus gives us a great example of actionable love during the times we live in.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18-25.

Here we see a great evaluation of actionable love during these times. As we live like God has commanded us to, we are going to be hated by those around us. As we live for Christ, we are going to have people stand up against us and that is ok. If I am hated for my desire to be like Christ, it shows that I am taking seriously the commandment of “for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1st Peter 1:16. 

So, we have learned a few things, we now know God is love, we know that He loves the world, and we know He wants us to love anyone even those who hate us. Now we come to the crossroads, the issue that we need to have our discernment caps on. How are we to love those who are acting in such a way that they are actively against what we stand for today?

While it sounds tricky it is a simple answer, for this we can look at some statements from Christ and His followers for a great example of how we are to act.

“Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:10.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” 1st Peter 4:8.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1st John 3:16-18.

“Do everything in love.” 1st Corinthians 16:14.

“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs” Proverbs 10:12.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:27-31.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” Luke 6:35.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" Matthew 5:43-48.

Do you see the similarities? Do you see the characteristics of our actionable love? There are three prime rules that we can pull out of these verses.

1)     Nowhere does it say to accept a person’s sinful life, decisions, and or actions. If it is wrong, we are to declare it wrong.

2)     Nowhere does it say we are to pick and choose who we love, no matter the political standing we are to love that person.

3)     Nowhere does it say we are to put loving man before loving God. He is first in our life, not helping the world.

These three simple issues are causing much of the harm today. For too long Christians have accepted sinful lifestyles, policies, and decisions from those around us. We are too worried about making sure we are being nice. Remember if the world hates you for representing Christ as He wants us to, chances are you are doing it right. Secondly, for too long Christians have picked and chosen who they want to show their brotherly love to, instead of acting as Christ and meeting people where they are and helping them find Christ, we condemn them for not being in a suit when they walk into church or for what side of the city they are from. Finally, for too long Christians have altered and outright changed God’s words, actions, and commandments all to please man. We are not to lose our first love, Jesus Christ is our final and only aim, all other goals are second to Him.

So how do we love today? The simple answer is to live according to how God has told us too. Love should look something like this in our own actions.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. 

“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,” Ephesians 4:2.

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18.

This will be hard for some to do, I know it is for me, current affairs make me want to go crazy when I see what the world is becoming. Nevertheless, we are to stay the course, do not let emotions entangle themselves in our pursuit of Christ. Now as for the Christian do not worry, for God has not forgotten us, He loves us and knows the trials that we go through, there is a coming judgement for those who do not know God, and those who forsake the love. But that is not for us to worry about right now. For now, we are to follow the orders given and to love Christ and secondly love our neighbors. Jesus will not abandon us, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39. However, this does not mean we are to sit idle by as those who are weak and vulnerable are abused, for are we truly loving the unborn, the orphan, the widow, the “fill in the blank” if we allow the world to murder, attack, ridicule, and hurt them? Absolutely not, but we are to stand to protect those who truly cannot protect themselves. We must recognize that until Love sits on the throne and is ruling in Jerusalem (aka Jesus), we will never have a perfect system. Yet as Christians, we should be doing our part to love all, even those who the world does not want to love. So, let us get out there and do what we Christians do best, “Let all that you do be done in love.” 1st Corinthians 16:14.

Hold until relieved, Our blessed Hope is coming

JL