WHO DO YOU LOVE AND BY WHO’S RULES DO YOU LOVE?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy, I tell you: Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you, that you may be sons 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.”
(Matthew 5:43-45)
MEDITATION:
How do you feel when you are playing a game with someone and
they suddenly change the rules? You thought you had it figured
out but now, they have added new rules. It requires a change in
your thinking and your approach to the game, doesn’t it? You
have to modify your strategy if you expect to be successful.
That’s exactly what Jesus did – He changed the game for everyone.
The world’s rules were to love only your neighbor (or friends) and
hate your enemies. But Jesus changed the rules drastically when He
told us to love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us.
His commands defy the world’s approach, don’t they? Some people
during His time on Earth may have been struggling with the worldly
guidelines, and Jesus just made things more difficult.
Sometimes loving our neighbors (friends) can be a challenge in itself,
especially if they disrespect us. Even with good friends, there can be
times when our words or actions disrespect someone because they do
things differently than we do. Disrespect may be intentional or maybe
accidental, but in either case, it usually stems from a selfish attitude
that wants things our way. However, when two people have a strong
friendship, it can survive the disrespect one may have for the other.
Even the world says we should love our friends, which means we figure
out a way to tolerate the things they do, even when they are not tolerant
of the things we do. Loving a friend who disrespects us can give us a good
feeling about ourselves, but Jesus says that is just the starting point…we
must love our enemies too!
Why would He give us such a difficult command? He wants His followers
to have a desire to be like Him and He loved His enemies. When He had a
challenge from others, did He disrespect them? No, He patiently listened
to them and calmly responded. Even more than that, He went to the cross
for His friends, and for His enemies as well.
Prior to being crucified, Jesus spent most of the night in prayer. We don’t
know everything that He prayed about, but we do know that He asked His
Father if there was another plan He could implement; if not, then He would
be obedient and go to the cross. Since He prayed for such a long time, we
may wonder if He spent some of the time praying for those who persecuted
Him.
Jesus wants His followers to have a spirit of Christian love. He wants us
to live a life without anger, malice, hate and disrespect. Jesus changed
the rules and if we are to be His followers, then we need to play by His
rules and not by the rules the world has established.
ACTION:
Consider this:
Which rules are governing your life today? Are you living by the worldly
rules or have you been transformed and you are now living by the rules
Jesus commanded? Followers of Jesus have been given a power to love
others beyond their natural ability to love. Have you learned how to love
unnaturally in the same way Jesus did?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, instill in me the same spirit of love that
has been shown in Your Son, Jesus. Help me to realize the
power you have given me to love the unlovable and to pray
for those who treat me unkindly, or disrespectfully. Show me
how to love as Jesus loved. I pray that this far-reaching kind
of love will become a natural part of my character.”
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