Love for Others

Readings for today: Matthew 5-7, Luke 6:20-49, 11:1-13

“For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭46‬-‭48‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This is one of Jesus’ most challenging and yet most pressing commands. We live in a divided world. We live in a divided nation. We live in divided communities. Many of us even live in divided families. People are divided along political and social lines. Family and tribal lines. Ideological and identity lines. These divisions are leading to all kinds of outbursts of anger and hatred and dehumanization and abuse. Some are even resorting to violence. It’s heartbreaking and soul-crushing on so many levels. In recent years, some have tried to justify their “tribalism” by suggesting it is appropriate to love those like you over those who are not like you. Love those who love you over those who hate you. Love your friends and not your enemies. Such justifications fall flat in the face of Jesus’ words today. Love your enemies. Love those who persecute you. Love those who hate you and attack you. Love them just as your Heavenly Father loves them. Bless them just as your Heavenly Father blesses them, causing the rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous alike. It’s so easy to love those who love you. It takes so little effort to greet only those who you know already. Even the pagans who don’t know God are able to do that. But if you want to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect, love like He loves. Love those who are not like you. Love those who are at odds with you. Love even those who are at war with you. That’s how God loves us and that’s how we become like God.

Can you imagine what would happen if Christians would seek to follow this command? Imagine the difference we could make if we had the courage to reach across the political aisle? Engage across the social spectrum? Embrace those who are not like us? Include those outside our family or tribe? Let go of our ideological purity tests and instead extend grace to those who may be different? Would we not shine like lights in the world? Would we not act like salt in the earth? Would we not reflect our Heavenly Father to the world? There is only one way to make this happen. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must walk in step with the Holy Spirit. We must be led by the Holy Spirit. He alone can give us the strength and courage and wisdom it will take to love our enemies in a world that seeks to destroy them instead.

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 8:5-13, 11:1-30, Luke 7

Love for Enemies

Readings for today: Isaiah 18-22

Egypt. The land of slavery. The land of oppression. The land of attempted genocide. For hundreds of years, the people of Israel labored under the whip. Beaten. Abused. Dying young. Their children born to a life of hard labor. Powerless. Helpless. Hopeless. It was a life of constant pain. Constant torment. Constant suffering. Even after they were delivered by God, Egypt continued to be a thorn in their side. Invading. Killing. A perpetual threat on their southern border. It’s tough to overstate the hatred and enmity between these two nations. And yet, God loves the Egyptians.

Assyria. One of the most powerful and brutal empires in the ancient world. They fielded the world’s first professional army. Developed advanced technology like iron weapons and war chariots. They weaponized terror as a military tactic. And they were absolutely ruthless when it came to putting down resistance. They would sack cities. Displace entire people groups. Employed horrific public torture as a means of psychological warfare. Israel hated them. Israel feared them. It’s why Jonah ran to Joppa rather than go to Nineveh. He simply couldn’t stomach the sight of his enemies. And yet, God loves the Assyrians.

The Book of Isaiah is often called, “The Gospel of the Old Testament” and today’s passage is a good reason why…“On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Armies in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them. The Lord will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings;  they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will turn to the Lord, and he will be receptive to their prayers and heal them. On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria. On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria a blessing within the land. The Lord of Armies will bless them, saying, “Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance are blessed.” (Isaiah‬ ‭19‬:‭19‬-‭25‬ ‭CSB‬‬) This is an incredible passage pointing to an even more incredible reality. The unconditional nature of God’s grace. It comes to us all. Jew and Gentile alike. Egyptian, Assyrian, and Israelite alike. Republican and Democrat alike. Progressive and conservative alike. Black, white, and brown alike. It is no one’s possession. No one has a right to claim it for their own. No one is more privileged than another in the eyes of God.

All have sinned and fallen short of His glory and all stand in need of His grace. This is why Jesus gives us this command…”You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Jesus knows there are no “enemies” in His Kingdom. No “enemies” beyond His reach. No “enemies” beyond His salvation. Jesus knows there is not a single person or single power on this earth who can stand before His love. Jesus holds the power to turn mortal enemies into family. Jesus holds the power to overcome hate and anger and the desire for vengeance with mercy and forgiveness. Jesus holds the power to transform even the hardest hearts. The question is…do we believe Him? Do we trust Him? And do our lives and our conduct and our speech and our interactions reflect this deep and glorious truth?

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 23-26

Dying to Self

Readings for today: Jonah 4, Micah 1-2, Revelation 9

Jonah is a great book. Especially when read in it’s historical context. The northern kingdom of Israel has just been destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. They’ve been scattered to the four winds. Forcibly resettled in new lands. Their way of life gone forever. And now we read of God’s prophetic attempt to call those same Assyrians to repentance. Wait a minute?! The Assyrians? Seriously? The same people who terrorized and brutalized God’s people? To say Jonah is a reluctant prophet is an understatement. He must have had a tremendously frustrating career. His own people refused to follow the Lord. They kept repeating the same mistakes over and over again. They were unfaithful. They were idolatrous. As a result, God sends the Assyrians to punish them. To drive them to their knees in humility and repentance. When that doesn’t work, those same Assyrians become the instrument of God’s righteous judgment on His own people. One can only imagine the hatred a man like Jonah would harbor for such people. They are Gentiles. Unbelievers. Unclean. Unworthy of God’s grace. But then he receives the call to go and preach the gospel to them. What the heck?! 

Jonah is a timely book for us to read as well. Our world is full of hatred and enmity. Social media gives full vent to our anger and rage. Judging others seems to be the order of the day and grace is in short supply. If someone disagrees with you, they are almost sub-human. Worthy only of contempt. They deserve to be unfriended, unfollowed, and publicly shamed. If someone questions you, they become a target. Attacked. Torn down. Their character assassinated. If someone doesn’t affirm you, they get cut out of your life almost immediately. It is sad and disheartening and ultimately self-destructive. 

Perhaps this is why Jesus calls us to love our enemies. Love humanizes. Love requires grace and forgiveness. Love requires listening and humility. Ultimately, love is selfless. It requires us to die to self in order to live for someone else. It forces us to take a good hard look at ourselves, our motives, our intentions, and lay them aside before engaging others. It celebrates diversity and assumes the best of others. It honors difference and dignifies those who disagree. It is deeply practical. And it should set Christians apart from the rest of the world. 

Unfortunately, too many Christians seem to have forgotten this command. They explain it away. Rationalize it. Reject it. And the result is only more pain as the vicious cycle continues. Every Christian should ponder and pray over the closing words of Jonah...“When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." And the Lord said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" (Jonah‬ ‭4:8-11‬) We need to ask ourselves if we do well to be so angry? So enraged? We need to ask ourselves if we pity those who are like us more than those who are different? Pity those who agree with us more than those who disagree? Pity our friends more than our enemies? Should God not pity Democrats and Republicans? Liberals and conservatives? Whites and blacks? Asians and Latinos? Aboriginal people as well as immigrants? Should God not pity Americans as well as Mexicans? Israelis as well as Palestinians? North as well as South Koreans? Rich as well as poor? Privileged as well as under-privileged? The list is infinite but thankfully so is God’s grace. 

The way to life is the way of love. And the way of love is the way of sacrifice. We must die so others might live. We must lay down our lives so that others may thrive. We must give our lives away so that others might rise. Friends and enemies alike. Worthy and unworthy alike. This is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what it looks like to have the heart of God.

Readings for tomorrow: Micah 3, Revelation 10