Love People

Have you noticed that our world is broken? This brokenness makes some people difficult to love. I know that all of this is shocking information, but did you know this same brokenness makes you and me difficult to love. Our nature is bent to brokenness and sin, but God has shown and commanded a different way. In Romans 5:8 Paul says, " 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus demonstrated to us that love requires sacrifice with no guarantee of change or payment. Jesus died for our sins to provide us the opportunity to be in a relationship with Him. There is no guarantee that you or I will surrender to Him. Love is a sacrifice. To love people, we have to sacrifice what is comfortable and sometimes our sense of justice in order to love them. Not only did Jesus demonstrate His love toward us but He commanded us to love our Heavenly Father and other people in this way. Matthew 22:36-40 says that the two greatest commandments are to love our Heavenly Father with all that we are and to love our neighbor as our self. These are commands not suggestions. When we do not love people, we are being willfully disobedient. Loving God seems logical and natural, but loving others, that is another story. I often times want to say to God, “Have you seen what they have done? Do you know how they have hurt me?”. Jesus response is yes, but I also know how you have done those same acts toward Me. Remember last week when you were rebellious? Remember when you said you just didn’t want to do what I was asking? At this moment in my conversation with God I hang my head and try to love people because I am loved by God. Then I come to 1 John 4:7-8 which says, "7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I hear John when he says love others because God is love. My heart does not flinch very much but then verse 8 comes. If you don’t love others, then you truly don’t love God. We live in a culture, even in the church culture, that seems to make loving others optional, but John says we can measure our love for our Heavenly Father by our love for people. If I want to love my Heavenly Father, then I have to love other people. I have to love broken people. Who is God calling you to love? Do you need to humble yourself to love them? Do you need to give or seek forgiveness to love? Do you want to love your Heavenly Father? Then love people.