A love that is impossible (on our own)
"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even tax collectors doing that?" - Matthew 5:46
Jesus words from his Sermon on the Mount is a challenge to any of us who calls ourselves Christians. While the context of the verse is about loving one's enemies in addition to one's friends, I think we can draw a simple principle that our Lord is trying to illustrate. That is to love people who cannot or will not do anything in return for you even when you love them.
Whenever my mom receives a gift from her friend, she feels obligated to return the favor. She could be heard saying, "Why did you get me this gift? Now I have to buy you something in return." To some degree, friendships sometimes work this way. If you scratch my back, I will scratch your back, whether that is stated implicitly or explicitly.
That's not how the kingdom of God works. As Christians, we are called to love the widows and orphans, those who are fatherless and cannot give you any favors in return. In other words this love has no strings attached. I believe that this missions trip is an opportunity for me to work out this kind of love that Jesus talks about.
This kind of love sounds lofty and unobtainable. I don't profess to even love my friends this way, let alone my enemies or people who can't offer me anything in return. In Luke's account of the same sermon, we are offered a clue to how it can be possible. Jesus says, "..because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." As I meditate on the Gospel and see that I was personally showered with His kindness though I was ungrateful and wicked, then maybe I can love others in the same way.
Jesus words from his Sermon on the Mount is a challenge to any of us who calls ourselves Christians. While the context of the verse is about loving one's enemies in addition to one's friends, I think we can draw a simple principle that our Lord is trying to illustrate. That is to love people who cannot or will not do anything in return for you even when you love them.
Whenever my mom receives a gift from her friend, she feels obligated to return the favor. She could be heard saying, "Why did you get me this gift? Now I have to buy you something in return." To some degree, friendships sometimes work this way. If you scratch my back, I will scratch your back, whether that is stated implicitly or explicitly.
That's not how the kingdom of God works. As Christians, we are called to love the widows and orphans, those who are fatherless and cannot give you any favors in return. In other words this love has no strings attached. I believe that this missions trip is an opportunity for me to work out this kind of love that Jesus talks about.
This kind of love sounds lofty and unobtainable. I don't profess to even love my friends this way, let alone my enemies or people who can't offer me anything in return. In Luke's account of the same sermon, we are offered a clue to how it can be possible. Jesus says, "..because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." As I meditate on the Gospel and see that I was personally showered with His kindness though I was ungrateful and wicked, then maybe I can love others in the same way.
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