Ancient Words For Today - 28
One of our great challenges in life is learning to live peaceably with others. Peaceful relations are relatively easy to accomplish with people who have loving, pleasant, harmonious, thoughtful and caring dispositions. But it is hard for us to live peaceably with persons who are rude, abrasive, quarrelsome, belligerent, and those who sow discord among friends. It may even seem to be an impossibility for us to live peaceably with people who display these and other disharmonious behavior patterns. However, Jesus told his disciples they needed to live by a higher standard. In fact, in the following verses He told them to love even their enemies!
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:27-36
Responding in love towards those who aggravate, belittle, persecute, use or hurt us is not generally our first impulse. In fact, we sometimes are guilty of responding to such bad behavior in like manner or worse. We need to remember that we all have blown it big time, as God would see it, by breaking His commandments. But He has been merciful to us and by His grace has forgiven all our sins when we believed in His Son, Jesus. So, instead of looking down on, avoiding, being angry with, retaliating against, or even hating others that we feel are not worthy of our love, concern, or help, we should look at such persons in the same loving way that God looks upon us, with mercy and grace. The natural man cannot do this alone, but as believers we have been given a new spiritual nature that can see things through God's eyes and we have been supernaturally empowered by God to love others the way that He loves us.
Loving others is not a suggestion, but rather is a directive from God. Jesus explained that loving others fulfills God's commandment: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35
Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:35-40
The Apostle Paul amplified this when he wrote to the church at Rome saying, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8-10
One of Paul's prayers for the church at Thessalonica was that the Lord would make them to abound in love toward one another and toward all men. This should be one of our prayers as well. So let's close with the text of Paul's prayer and personalize it by asking God to make this be a reality in our own lives also:
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. 1Thessalonians 3:11-13
AMEN!