The Key to It All
The last two Weekly Wisdom posts had to do with loving the unlovable people in our lives. This week I’m going to go deeper into the key I spoke of to love like God.
God is love. That statement cannot be said about anyone but God. His love is pure because His integrity is pure, stable, & righteous. The same cannot be said of us, because we try to love from our flawed, human viewpoint thinking. It isn’t until our flawed thinking is transformed and lines up with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2) can we love from the divine viewpoint of God. 1 John 4:19 says “We love God because He first loved us” and He did so while we were yet sinners, demonstrating to all creation that He is love.
This love was questioned way before the Garden of Eden, and before time began. It was questioned by Satan after He and a third of the Angels revolted against God. This revolt condemned them to the Lake of Fire (Matthew 25:41) However, Satan appealed this verdict by making the claim “How can a loving God send His creation to the Lake of Fire?
Does that sound familiar? You may have heard more than one unbeliever make that statement as a reason not to believe in Christ. I know I have.
We know this claim was made, because even now, Satan and his fallen angels are not in the Lake of Fire. In addition, Hebrews 2:14-15 speaks of Satan’s defeat at the cross. “Wait, wasn’t Satan was already condemned?” you may ask. You are right, Satan was condemned in eternity past, but the cross is where his appeal was defeated (among other things). And this is how the cross defeated his appeal…
To show that God is Love and His judgment of the fallen angels was just, God created human beings and gave them volition…the right to choose. And in time, man fell (like Satan) and rejected God. Romans 3:10-12 says,
“There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Wow! And yet, because God is Love, he provided a way to save and redeem the human race even though they continue to hate & reject Him.
At the perfect time (Galatians 4:4-7) God sent His son into the world as the sacrificial Lamb, the expression of God’s Love. But here is what defeated Satan’s appeal…God loved the world so much that He provided himself as the sacrifice, even for those who hate him. There exists no greater love!
The cross demonstrated to Satan and the fallen angels that God IS love. And our role as God’s witness to Satan’s appeal, is that we believed in God’s Son, even though we have never seen God. Now, Satan is without excuse, along with the unbeliever’s who reject God’s gift of salvation.
And here in lies the key! If God can love those who hate and reject Him, and provide Himself as the salvation gift of grace, what excuse do we have? Read what Hebrews 12:2-4 says about enduring…
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (!!).
If that verse doesn’t convict, I don’t know one that will. No matter what wrong has been done to us, no one have suffered like Christ. And for that reason, we are without excuse not to love with God’s Agape Love.
God does not require anything on our part to love us. (see “Why Jesus” for clarification of repentance) So why do we require something of others before we love them? It’s because we are loving with flawed, human love. God never commanded us to use our flawed, human (personal) love, but commanded us to love with His Agape (impersonal) Love.
Go back and re-read the two previous posts on agape/impersonal love to strengthen your understanding of this critical doctrine. Because there is a difference! Remember, Agape/impersonal love has nothing to do with the other persons integrity and behavior. It has to do with ours!
We use God’s love when we:
Respond to insults with kind words. (Father, forgive them for they know not what they do)
Do not return evil for evil. (As a lamb to the slaughter)
Do our best work on the job, in our marriage, with our family, even though others do not. (Because we answer to God)
Give grace to the weaker bother, outsider, and enemy. (Because God gave us grace)
Matthew 5:11-12 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Did you see that? Great is your reward! God always repays obedience with reward. Our momentary pain, hurt, insult, grief, suffering is just that…momentary. When we stand before God at the Judgment Seat of Christ and hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” it will all be worth it!
Trust God and His Word. Like Jesus, draw power from the Holy Spirit to love the unlovable, and dwell on the bigger picture of being the salt and light to a dark and dying world. YOU are the key!
Cheers to opening locks!
