“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” I Peter 1:22
We have two daughters and two grandsons. I paced a good bit at each of their births and was rewarded by having a newborn placed into my arms. At that moment, there was nothing but love, joy and thankfulness. It was easy…all reward and very little, if any, sacrifice. After all, they didn’t complain, didn’t exert their will, and didn’t ask for much except to be clean and fed. However, as they grew older, that love would require a fair amount of patience and sacrifice. It is in the choosing to have sacrificial love, that relationships and bonds are formed. As Christians, we are called to love well. Not just within our families, but both in and out of the church body. Further the call to love is not just when it is convenient. We’re called to love during our trials as well as our times of ease. We’re called to love not only the lovable, but the difficult, including our enemies. Let me be clear, I struggle with this as much as anyone and, as with many of these posts, I’m writing to myself and using this as an opportunity to start refining my own behavior. However, the fact that loving well may be difficult or inconvenient is not justification to ignore or take likely this direction. When we’re tempted to take love for granted, put little effort into it because it seems too demanding or we just refuse to love someone that we find despicable, we would do well to consider the following.
We are commanded to love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34) Not only did Christ command us to love, but He also showed us how to love. By loving His disciples, He showed us not only how to love close friends like John, but also enemies like Judas. Further, He endured torture, bore the sins of mankind and suffered the Father’s turning from Him as an act of immense love.
When we feel that we have no capacity to love, we must remember that God is the source of our love. (1 John 4:7) It flows from Him through us. In that sense, God is requesting that we share what He has provided with those around us remembering that He loved us first and in our state of unrepentant sin. He is not asking us to do anything that He has not done as well.
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) This reminds us that acts of love are our testimony to the world that we are God’s and that we live to serve Him. It opens the door to share the Gospel.
When we love well, we draw closer to God because we are obeying His commands and our bond with Him is reinforced. Further, in loving well, we are uniting the body of believers by strengthening relationships, providing encouragement and accountability, as well as providing for the needs of the body spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
We often struggle to love well because it takes effort and is complex in that it is a series of intentional choices. It is a choice to act when we would rather not. It is a choice to rise above our trials, weakness and pain and reach out to another in a sacrificial way. It is a choice to give away what has been given to us. It is a choice to be honest and transparent so that depth is provided to our relationships and that we can truly connect with other people. It is a choice to trust in spite of past hurts and disloyalties. It is a choice to leave our comfort zone and allow God to be our strength and guide. It is a choice to humble ourselves and serve as Christ did when He washed the disciples’ feet. It is a choice to show our faith through our actions as well as our words. Sometimes it’s a choice to be patient, kind, protect, hope, and persevere; sometimes it a choice to not envy, boast, dishonor, be angry, be proud, be selfish, or keep a record of wrongs; but it is always a choice to love the Lord our God.
With constant illness and fatigue it’s very tempting to give up, just take care of ourselves and allow someone else do the work. However, when I’m tempted to withdraw and isolate myself, I’m reminded of those who have loved me well and the impact that it has had on me. During our time in Chattanooga, our dear friends Joni and Bob blessed us in so many ways by sharing time, teaching and helping as we worked on each other’s homes together, watching our children for us after school, etc. Another good friend Linda, who through more than battle with cancer and other health issues, encouraged others through greeting cards. Rosemary, our pastor’s mother, adopted me like many others and went of her way to make sure that I knew that I was loved and that she cared about my circumstance. Members of our church have provided meals, encouragement and financial support in times of illness and job loss. There have been several men who have taken time to provide encouragement, guidance and accountability as well as accepting me in spite of my shortcomings. God has even provided friends that I have never met in person who, even though suffering themselves, have shown godly love and encouragement as well as using social media to bring the truth of God to my circumstances through scripture, song and sharing their own experiences and thoughts. There have been countless people in my family, in my circle of friends, fellow church members, who have come from a variety of circumstances to show the love of God to me and encourage me to do the same for others by their actions. One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw: “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” In the context of our faith, moving beyond our circumstances to live and love well, not only draws us close to God and man, but also moves us from the side lines to become valuable members of the body of Christ. It is both and command and a gift.
Love well as Christ has loved you.
Will