Called to True Love

There’s a lot of junk happening in today’s world. Bombs being dropped on innocent people just to take out a few who might be dangerous, threats thrown back and forth between world leaders, and riots and fights, murders and hatred. These things are rampant in the world where we live. There are a lot of questions, a lot of arguments, people taking sides, and “to hell with those who don’t agree”. As Christians, what should our response be?

Scrolling through my Facebook, it’s been disheartening to see so many people unknowingly perpetuating the hatred. They say things like “I choose love” when there is so much hatred throughout their post that it would almost make the devil blush. There’s no point in choosing love if you’re going to be choosy with your love. Matthew 5:44-45 says, “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 sends the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

In John 13:35 Jesus tells us that people will recognize us as His children by the way we love each other. Whether you like it or not, this applies to all people. The Bible says that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), not that “God so loved some of the world” or that He so loved “everyone but the people who disagree with you”.

Loving someone does not mean agreeing with everything they do. Loving someone does not mean condoning sinful actions. Loving people means treating people the way Jesus did. In Luke 6:32-35, Jesus reminds us that loving people will be hard, but He challenges us to push past what is natural for humans to do and love those we can’t trust, who we can’t stand to listen to talk about their opinions, and who we would rather see dead than continuing in their actions.

God is described as merciful, gracious, faithful, abounding in steadfast love, and slow to anger (Psalm 86:15). Our human nature tells us that we should be angry and full of vengeance, but the Bible tells us to be informed by the mind of Christ (Romans 8:9). We shouldn’t sit idly by and allow horrible things to happen, but we should also leave vengeance in God’s hands (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35). We are only commanded to show mercy over justice, so rather than attacking those who we believe have done wrong, we should be merciful to their victims and show grace and forgiveness (Matthew 23:23).

All sin is equal in God’s eyes. Hatred, murder, vandalism, prejudice, rape, lust, adultery - all the same. If we judge others’ sins as unforgivable and ignore our own unforgivable offenses, then we close ourselves off from God’s grace and forgiveness (Mark 11:26). In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Paul talks about how he experienced forgiveness despite his former wickedness. This is all of us who have received God’s forgiveness. Just like the parable of the man who was forgiven the great debt by the king and immediately turned and had his friend arrested over a small debt, we often live in such a way that places ourselves on a much higher pedestal than those around us. We are called to give the same unconditional forgiveness we have received from our Savior.

Never turn a blind eye. Get involved. But live in true love and forgiveness rather than anger and vengeance.

Let’s take a second to pick apart what this means:

God loves black people.

God loves white people.

God loves brown people.

God loves Asian people.

God loves gay people.

God loves straight people.

God loves women.

God loves men.

God loves transgender people.

God loves pro-choice people.

God loves pro-life people.

God loves old people.

God love middle aged people.

God loves young people.

God loves unborn people.

God loves Muslims.

God love Buddhists.

God loves Jews.

God loves Nazis.

God loves murderers.

God loves rapists.

God loves victims.

GOD LOVES.

That’s what we’re called to do. We’re called to love.

Ephesians 4:20-27

But that is not the way you learned Christ! -- assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.