Love (1 John 4:19; Matthew 5:43-48)

“We love because He first loved us.” The only reason we can truly understand the power of love is because God the Father and the Son demonstrated it in the cross. Love is sacrificial, foregoing the wants and needs of self for the needs and well-being of another. It seeks to give good to those who need it, whether they deserve it or not. Is this the attitude we have, or do we find ourselves making our proverbial sun rise and rain fall only on the good and just, loving only those who love us, and greeting only our brothers? Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” As a child of God, should we not emulate the love God demonstrated to us? Paul reminds us, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us...For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:7-8, 10) We have been treated with unconditional love, having had our need for salvation satisfied when we were undeserving. Should we therefore rationalize and deny the “undeserving” the good we have to give (even if it means some sacrifice on our part)? Must those who have mistreated us “deserve” our kind words, smiles, gifts of time and energy, etc., before we give them? Jesus says this will not be the case if we want to be true children of our Father who is in heaven.

Forgiveness (Ephesians 4:31-5:2)

Stemming from this attitude of love is the act of forgiving. Paul instructs the brethren at the church in Ephesus to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” When we do something wrong and reap the consequences of our actions, the last thing we want someone to do is go to great lengths to make us feel terrible about it. We have all wronged God and grieved Him with our sin, and we have consequently suffered for our disobedience. While God allowed us to suffer our due consequences when we were being rebellious, He offers forgiveness to those who repent. Forgiveness is not just saying “I forgive you,” rather it is the cessation of anger, the pardon of wrong, and the promise of mercy. It is having the power to punish and foregoing that right. Paul says to “be imitators of God, as beloved children.” God had every right and all the power to punish us immediately and eternally for the many sins we committed, but He sought to pardon our sins and promised mercy to those who would turn to Him. Is this how we respond when we are wronged and harmed, or do we hold grudges, in our minds (or otherwise) mercilessly punishing those we feel should suffer like we have? Before we go down that dark road, let us consider where we would be if God had given us what we deserved for our sins against Him.

Patience (2 Peter 3:9, 15)

When we are learning and growing, trying and sometimes failing, we want people to be patient with us. Very few (if any) are able to do even most things well on the first try, let alone perfectly. Nevertheless, we seem to conveniently forget the patience we desire when those around us are not growing, learning, and maturing quickly enough. This is not to excuse those who are not growing, learning, and maturing at all, but it is a reminder that not all of us “get it” at the same time. Thanks be to God that He is patient toward us, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Sometimes, however, it seems like we do not share this desire of God’s. Certainly it is much easier to be patient with someone during a ‘spiritual growth spurt’ or ‘good works hot streak,’ but what about when they are struggling? Do we remember to “count the patience of the Lord as salvation,” thanking Him that He gives us time to learn and correct our behavior? Should we not then be patient with others as they learn and correct their’s?