How Do You Love?

1 Before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end. ~ John 13:1

Jesus = Love! Do you believe this to be a true statement? If you read the life of Jesus in scripture I believe that you too will come to this conclusion. The fascinating thing is that Jesus loved to the very end and beyond. Who among us have the capacity to love in the face of percussion? Who of us has the ability to pray for someone that we are angry with, or the person who is saying evil things about us?

Take a look at the event in the upper room on the night Jesus was betrayed. He knew that Satan had already enticed Judas into betraying HIm. He knew that Peter would deny Him three times before the sun would rise. Jesus could have condemned them but He did not! Jesus knew that He was about to suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and Pontius Pilate to pay for their sins and was willing to go even further by lowering Himself in status to become a foot washer and wash the feet of the very people who were going to betray and abandon Him this very night.

In todays world we have distorted love to become a word that is so selfish. We love someone as long as it benefits us. When someone tells another person today, "I love you," in most circumstances what they are really saying is, "I love what you do for me." That is so selfish! When Jesus says, "I love you," He is saying that He loves you to the death and beyond. Jesus says "I love you and there is nothing you can do about it!" We do not earn it, and we can not change it! Nothing we do will ever stop our Lord and Savior from loving us.

This love of Christ has saved us from our own sin, this love of Jesus is what lives in us. We must die to ourselves and our selfish ways and let the love that is Christ live in and through us. We must be forgiving yet uncompromising, we must be loving but unwavering in our faith and belief. I love how Phil Robertson just put recently, while talking about ISIS, "I'd rather have a bible study with them and teach them the good news of Christ, but if its a fight they want..." (paraphrasing) Christ loved everyone and treated everyone with love, He was also willing to confront people with the truth. To me that is love, not letting someone go the wrong way, telling someone that they are going to die if they don't change their way of thinking, that is love. Protecting our family and friends from slaughter, defending our way of life and our beliefs, that is love.

We have to stand for what we believe! I know this is an old adage but it rings true even today, "if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything." We as a nation have become lukewarm and in the book of Revelation there is a strong warning about what happens when a people become luke warm:

14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" ~ Revelations 3:14-22

So let us not be lukewarm but steaming! Let us not set by and watch the people of the world die because we were to afraid to speak what we know to be truth. Let us be the love of Christ to all those we meet, let us live our lives as if it were the last day! It is nearer than we think... Amen. <><