Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NASB
Are you living in obedience to the scripture? How are you doing with loving others? Quite honestly, it’s easy to love the people that we like. The people that make us happy. It’s another thing to love someone when you see their faults, especially when you’ve been a victim of their faults.
But on God’s list of priorities for our lives, love ranks very, very high. So in keeping it real, it’s kind of surprising that a lot of Christians seem to lack a loving spirit and a loving attitude. The Christian church in our culture is known for particular doctrines or our stance on certain political or social issues, but are we also known as equally (or better yet -- in a greater way) for our love for God and one another? Are we known for our love ….. because Jesus said we would be. “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” John 13:35 NIV
Jesus didn’t say – they will know that you are Christians by your passion for the scripture, or by your heart of worship, or your powerful prayer life, or because you have the gift of healing or words of knowledge. Or worse, they will know you are a Christian by your judgmental attitude or your political party….. Chris Tiegreen wrote that though individual Christians can demonstrate remarkable love at times, the church at large has failed to live what the Bible calls priority number one. Love is not the church’s most recognizable characteristic. And I think that grieves the heart of God.
All of this begs the question - How do we learn to love? It’s really quite simple - You learn to love by loving. I am convinced that God purposely puts people in our lives who are hard to love. He does that to teach us how to love bcause we have to work at it. Jesus said, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there in that? Even the corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are different from everyone else? Even the pagans do that.” Matthew 5:46-47 NLT
It is great when love is a feeling. But genuine, biblical love is a choice. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 NIV Notice, this is not a suggestion. It’s a command. He said - you must. Loving difficult people is more than just a good idea. It’s God’s example. Don’t forget, on the very night He was betrayed, Jesus washed Judas’ feet.
I ran into one of my kids’ middle school coaches this week. Back in the day, his guy drove me nuts. He just rubbed me the wrong way. He’s rude, sarcastic, constantly puts people down but laughs it off. When I saw him, I said hello, and kind of tried to be friendly, but mostly I just endured it and walked away, and ignored him. But shortly thereafter, I came under such heavy conviction by the Holy Spirit that I did not represent the Lord well. Ignoring someone is not loving them. I had to repent. With gritted teeth, I asked God to give me another chance, to let me run into him again so that I can act more Godly. I failed the test. God, let me take it again.