God’s commandments are not designed to restrict us from doing the things we want to do. They are guidelines to help protect us from ruining our lives by succumbing to our own fleshly desires. They teach us how to live the best life possible and how to please the Lord as we do it. They explain how we are to treat people and how we are to respond to attacks from others. But all of these things are summed up quite nicely in Matthew 5:17, when Jesus tells us He came, not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And how does He fulfill every commandment? With love.
If we love, all the rest of the commandments are covered. For example, love would never murder nor commit adultery. With this, we see how important it is to walk in love. We must constantly be striving to increase in this area of our lives because it’s the only thing God really asks us to do outside of accepting Christ as our Savior. Anything else He asks of us is met within the boundarylessness of our love.
Now, if we really, truly love God, then we MUST love His people…all of them. This includes the ones who drive us crazy; the ones with whom we disagree; the ones who gossip about us and tell lies on us; the ones who hurt us; the ones who hurt our kids; the ones who betray us. I’m sure there may be people in your life whom you find difficult to forgive, let alone love and even pray for, but it’s a requirement of all Christians to do these things anyway. As a matter of fact, if we choose to go our own way by refusing to love someone, then we don’t even KNOW God. That’s a pretty tough statement. Isn’t it? But, it’s Biblical.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4:8
We cannot stand stubbornly in the face of God and hate anyone and still profess to love Him. He is the very essence of that which we are refusing. When we gave God our eternal “yes,” we entered into a serious, covenant relationship with Him. Just as in marriage, we agreed to become one with Him and to follow His lead. Therefore, when our beloved tells us we are to love one another as we love ourselves, our refusal is like a betrayal of that relationship. We’re basically saying, “No, God, catering to my feelings is more important than honoring yours.”
It’s difficult to love some people. I admit that. But if God tells us it is necessary for us to do something, He will give us the grace to do it. I didn’t say He would do it FOR us. I said He would give us the grace to do it. It still requires purposeful action on our part. It will often require sacrifice. It will definitely require dying to self. But we can do it as we ask Him to show us how AND allow Him to guide us in the process. We may have to CHOOSE to do it over and over again–maybe even several times a day–but, if we’re doing it out of obedience to God, He will see the desire of our heart to please Him and He will help us walk it out until it’s real to us.
We can have every other thing in life down perfectly, but if we don’t strive to have this one thing right in our lives, we have nothing. The Bible tells us it doesn’t matter if we are eloquent, wise, and full of faith, if we give all our possessions to the poor, or if we burn at the stake as a martyr…without love, we are spiritually bankrupt. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
So what does love look like? I’m glad you asked. Let me paraphrase how God describes love to us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Love looks like: no matter how hard it may be to believe in someone, you never give up on a person. You always believe that God can do something with them because He is the author and finisher of our faith…all of ours. No one is ever a lost cause. Love also means you are patient and you care more about the well-being of others than you do for yourself. You’re not jealous of what others have. As a matter of fact, it makes you happy to see them do well…even if they get something you wanted–whether you think they deserved it or not–you can still rejoice with them.
When you’re walking in love, you aren’t prideful. Pride sneaks up on us so quickly, so we have to be constantly vigilant to ensure this deadly enemy doesn’t sneak in and cause us to puff ourselves up, thinking we know best or that we’re somehow better than someone else.
Love never forces it’s self on anyone. In the Bible, when Jesus told someone to do something, He gave them the liberty to choose whether or not to listen to Him or follow His wise counsel (the rich young ruler is a good example of this). He let them make their own decision and kept on going as the example that He was created to be. He came, not to be served, but to serve. Likewise, love doesn’t demand to be “first.” Let’s say you had your hopes set on a promotion that was a sure-win, but you got passed over. Love knows it’s okay not to be chosen by man, because you know you’re chosen by God.
Love is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which also includes, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits of the Spirit are part of who we become when we, the branches, tap into our Source, the Vine, and become more like Him. With these things in operation, we won’t be as likekly to fly off the handle when we’re frustrated with someone. We’ll learn to cast our cares upon the Lord and avoid messing up our witness with someone who may need us to be an example to follow. We won’t worry about keeping score, because, whether it’s dolling out vengeance, convicting of sin, or making all things work together for good, that’s God’s arena. And we’ll be careful not to be too happy when people “get what they deserve.” That could have just as easliy been you, but, by His Grace, you were spared so many of the things you “deserved.” Remember to be compassionate toward those who are hurting and who may even be begging for forgiveness. Rejoice with them as they learn the Truth.
Basically, loves puts up with anything. It doesn’t try to make things even or fair by demanding its own way; it completely and totally trusts in God to be righteous and just. It always looks for the best in every situation, never looking back or holding onto things from the past, because it knows that God is in charge of the situation. Love is endless, powerful, and healing. It’s worth everything you invest in it because it is the very essence of God. As we learn to love, we learn more of who He is and our lives become inherently better because we are becoming more like Him. There’s nothing like it and you will never lose if you love the way God shows you.
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