December 18 – Luke 6:27-36
Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.
What is different about a Jesus followers’ way in which we love? They love those who hate them. Jesus did not come without a plan or purpose. He came because He is love, and we are to love all persons, just as Jesus loves us. Sunday school answer, right? Textbook answer, right? Ya, ya, it is. And yet, it is the correct answer. However, in real life, our answer/response to that command can be vastly different.
We cannot pick and choose whom we love. We cannot willfully exclude someone, brushing them aside, flashing a quick smile, and then rushing off to completely shower another with love. We cannot love them with a Jesus kind of love if we are not spending time with them, praying over them, inquiring of them, and not invested in them. We cannot love them if we do not stop to actually notice them. That is the complete opposite of what we are commanded to do. And it IS a command.
It is so easy at Christmas time to get caught up in all of the emotions and celebrations to get all lovey with each other. You know that scene from the original Grinch movie, where all the Whos are in a circle, hands locked and swaying while singing. Or, you know, those praise and worship nights where love and joy are overflowing, and everyone is greeting each other with cheer, and no one is overlooked? Then, on the first Sunday of January, everything is back to ‘normal,’ back to what it was, and we are back to our ‘normal’ behavior.
This is totally counter to what God wants us to be like. He does not want our love extended in reaction to feelings. He wants our love to be a lifestyle, a realization that there just is no other choice. If we are a child of God, we will love. If we do not… are we really His? Know, that I
say this as a person who struggles to show feelings, especially love. I get so overwhelmed that it often ends up looking like anger and annoyance. Actually showing the love I have inside of me for others… that is a daily prayer. A daily prayer. I am commanded by the God of Love to love! And yet, it is the hardest for me to do. I often have to read Ephesians 5 over and over to remind myself that I am to be an imitator of God. Is anyone with me on this? Are we sure we realize just how vital this is to our obedience to God? To our identity as children of God?
Jesus’ birth changed what the verb ‘to love’ means. From His birth on, His followers are expected to love in this new way. Why? So that others will know Him as we know Him. They will know we are His followers by how we love (John 13:35). Cool, right? Jesus’ love working
within us changes us so much that others notice!
This Christmas, let us take some time to really evaluate and ask the Holy Spirit to shine a light on areas where our love is not really like His at all. And let us begin to fix those areas. May our goal heading into 2025 be to not keep another from knowing Jesus’ love.
My Verse: “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” Luke 6:32
My Response: God of my salvation, God of my life, God of my heart, I come before You in confession that I have, in fact, not loved others as You have commanded me to. I come before You asking for forgiveness and for the strength to correct this wrong. I do not want to travel the road of unlove; I want to walk in Your light and shower those around me with a Jesus kind of love, not a Melissa kind of love.
Further Reading: Matthew 5:43-48; Ephesians 5:1-21
What’s next?
As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below. Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.
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Sharon’s Morning Thoughts: I was struck by Melissa’s phrase: “He wants our love to be a lifestyle” – and am having fun mulling this over. Yes. It should be at the very core of who we are – a person who loves because she was loved by God Himself! And I am with you, Melissa. It’s Very Hard to do sometimes!
My verse: Luke 6:36 “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”
Father, help me see beyond the outward behavior of an unpleasant person to their hurting heart and soul. Give me compassion for hurting people who lash out and hurt others. Teach me how to be kind in the face of rudeness and rage. Help me feel so secure in You that others’ actions do not change my heart and callous it. Keep me close, dear Lord, and help me to be gentle with others, full of compassion for their own hurts and wounds, as You are with mine.