As I Have Loved You

Luke 6:27-28 "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you".

What would happen if, as Christians, we started actually living out what Jesus taught us? Jesus's teachings on love attacks several traditions and misinterpretations of scripture that we use to justify our sinful and unloving nature.While we have learned to love thy neighbor, we sometime seem to exclude the need to love our enemies. But Jesus instructs us to love and do good to our enemies. The love Jesus instructs us to love with, does not result from any merit or attractiveness in the other person, it comes solely from the heart of the one loving, and we are to seek the best interest of that person, despite their behavior toward us. Now this love does not result from a weakness or failure to stand up for truth or justice, it is a purposeful love that flows from a strong heart that seeks the eternal salvation of others. This sacrificial love demonstrates that our purpose for living is larger than who we are.

Jesus commands us to pray for and bless those that offend us. Our natural response is to strike back when mistreated, but Jesus teaches us to do the opposite. Jesus gave two illustrations to show the extent of how far our love for others should go, there is a blow to the face and stolen clothes, in such cases we are not retaliate. The purpose is to reach out in love instead of satisfying ourselves through revenge. Our love must be strong and purposeful in accepting mistreatment, as it shows our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. Jesus not only taught us our love must be strong and purposeful when mistreated, but we must also be merciful to others in our daily lives, as the Father daily pours out new mercy on us.

The standard of sacrificial love goes beyond what others might do or what we might feel we should do, it is what Jesus teaches us to do, it is what he did. The prime example of selfless giving is our heavenly Father himself, who showed kindness to all humanity regardless of how they treated him, as he gave his only begotten son that we might have everlasting life. When we love others the way Jesus instructed us to, we show the world we are his. " Love Ye one another as I have loved you".