Jesus and Love
I believe that a Christian's central character which motivates him to do good to those who hate him, to bless those who curse him, and to pray for those who mistreat him is due to love which was embodied by Jesus and transcended all boundaries.
Being Christian means that we need to know how to love and that we love others just as God loves us, just as Jesus loves us.
Jesus loves us unconditionally and when He died on that cross so that we may be saved from our sins if we believe in Him, He thought of us and poured Himself out lovingly.
It is such a comforting thought and I think we need to constantly remind ourselves and meditate or reflect upon Jesus and His love for us especially in those moments when we feel so troubled.
It will give us the strength that we would need to face our struggles and to overcome because if you believe that Jesus is there for you and He loves you, all fear will fade away.
I would like to look at certain passages of Scripture that talk about love perhaps to give us a more nuanced understanding and to show us exactly how to love the way Jesus loves us.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." John 15:12-13
"This is my command: Love each other." John 15:17
From these verses, we notice one resounding similarity and that is Jesus commanding His disciples to love one another as He has loved us.
It is a simple and direct command but it is quite difficult to practice in reality because the world that we live in is wrought with hatred, greed, envy, pride, and selfishness that create barriers among people and divide them.
But this is exactly why Jesus told us to love one another, to love our enemies, and to love God first and foremost, because it is love that breaks these barriers and Jesus modeled that for us by going to the cross.
Jesus said that there is no greater love than a man lay down his life for a friend. And that was exactly what He did for us so that anybody who believes in Him and receives Him in their lives would be saved and freed from condemnation and sin.
The love that Jesus showed us was transcendent because it surpasses all human understanding and it is so profound that we simply stand in awe and receive His love that He gave by grace.
Jesus also said through the verses above that people will know that we are His disciples if we love one another. So we cannot say that we are Christians if we do not know how to love and if we do not love others just as Jesus has loved us unconditionally.
1 John 4:8 clearly states that, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." Love is such a vital character for Christians to have because that is God's character and if we say that we are in God, then we must have love.
Jesus' love is transcendent and is given for all as 2 Corinthians 5:14 says, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died." Everyone can experience God's love through Jesus.
There is no discrimination on who can receive Him and be loved by Him no matter what sins you may have committed or what kind of life you have lived before you came to Christ. God loves us all so much and He is just waiting for you to accept His love through Jesus.
What is Love?
There are a few things that I would like to share about what the Bible tells us regarding the nature of love and how we can know what genuine love is so that we may truly love the way Jesus loves us and be called His disciples and friends.
Love is an attitude. Attitude is the way we think or feel about someone or something which is reflected in our behavior. 1 Corinthians 13 can help us know more about love being an attitude and this is the famous chapter that expresses an elaborate insight of love.
"Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
The chapter that precedes this one tackles the topic of spiritual gifts. The reason why Paul put these two chapters one after the other is because he wants to emphasize that although God enables people to use spiritual gifts, they will not have any impact whatsoever if we do not have love for others and for God.
In giving a more comprehensible way to explain what 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says about love, I would like to share one of our pastors' insights on this.
When provoked - patience.
When confronted with a need - kindness.
When not having what others have - gratitude instead of envy.
When blessed with what others do not have - does not boast.
When dealing with others of less importance - not rude.
When dealing with needs - not self-seeking.
When dealing with frustrations - not easily angered.
When dealing with offenders - not keeping a record of wrongs.
When seeing someone affected by evil - grieves and does not delight.
When seeing someone victorious in truth - rejoices.
When confronted with a choice - protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres.
Love is an act. Love is more than just a noun, it is a verb. Remember the phrase "actions speak louder than words"? It rings true for love as with anything else. If someone tells you that he or she loves you, how do you know that this is true or when do you feel loved by that person?
Wouldn't you say that you feel loved when they go out of their way and make the effort to show you how special you are to him or her by giving you his or her time or by giving gifts on your birthday or anniversary?
Our actions express exactly how we feel for our parents or our boyfriend or girlfriend. And the same goes for God. 1 John 3-4 and Romans 12 give detailed accounts about loving as an act.
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:16-18
"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary:
'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals in his head.'
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:9-21
The first two verses both say that God showed His love by sending Jesus into the world as an atoning sacrifice for our sins so that we may be saved through Him.
When Jesus lived in the world, He traveled from town to town healing people, casting out demons, preaching and teaching the message of God, and restoring broken souls.
He comforted them and showed them His love through the miraculous signs He did among the people and by forgiving their sins. He went to the cross and died for us then resurrected after three days so that anyone who believes in Him will live even though they die speaking of eternal life.
The second passage is a longish outline describing the different acts of love that we do for others. But the very first statement would be the most important as it tells us to love sincerely and not out of personal interests or hidden motivations.
We should not love so that we can get benefits from others or so that we can use our relationships with others for our own selfish reasons.
We should love out of a pure heart and not seek for anything in return. We should love others even though they hate us. We should love sacrificially, giving more than what we are comfortable of giving. We should love unconditionally and still love others despite them falling out on us.
We should love consistently and with fervor. We should love because others need to be loved and because God loves us and we want to share His love to them.
Love is an identity or character. The Bible tells us that God is love and that for us to identify ourselves with Him, calling ourselves children of God or Christians, those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God, and has received Him into our lives, we need to love the same way He loves us.
When we have developed this character as God changes us and instills His love in our hearts, we overflow in His love and are compelled not by force but by a deep devotion toward God to share His love to others.
I hope this discussion on love and more specifically the love that Jesus has for us was helpful and gave you new insight on these or at least reminded you that God loves you and will always be there for you because He wants the best for you. He works together for our good because He cares for us and loves us.
God Bless!
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