In the last article, I mentioned that there were two things that Jews failed to understand about God’s command to love. First was their assumption that love should only be within their community. However. God actually wanted the strangers in the land to be treated the same way a native should be (Lev. 19:34).
Secondly, there was the complexity of the command. They thought that it was not difficult to apply, but Jesus demands the proper usage of this love. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matt 5: 44) This is challenging, and truly perplexing. Jesus used the Greek word “agapao,” which refers to a quality of love that is not based on personal satisfaction, what you can receive, superficial appearance, or sentimentalism. Rather, it is a love that is without conditions. Regardless of whether someone is worth loving or not, you will agapao. It is truly a sacrificial love, demanding that you seek nothing for yourself before loving your neighbor.
We do not like this explanation because it demands to check ourselves. It’s easy to love fellow believers because you share the same heart, but what about those outside of our faith?
Many experience persecution today for speaking truth in social circles. There are those who say that we should accept everyone’s definition of truth, but when Christian truth is spoken, it is branded as hateful. They are being insulted for their convictions, but the question is: how should we, servants of Christ, respond? What does He command? Should we ignore persecutors completely? Curse them? No. Jesus says, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. That’s difficult, but we do it.
Remember that following Christ in this selfish, sinful world is never easy. He demands that we forget ourselves and follow Him only, which is in stark contrast with what the world teaches. We stand firm in our convictions despite the world’s insults and persecutions, and we do that while loving them. We do not fight evil with evil. Titus 2:10 says “…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.” The gospel does not need our contribution to make it beautiful; it already is. What we need to be cautious of is not bringing dirt to the gospel. So, love even those difficult people.
Next week, we will see why it is important to obey this commandment as children of God.
