You Gotta Love Them
How tragic! God calls us to love those around us, not hate them.
You Gotta Love Them
If you want to get a good idea of how God expresses His love, turn to the book of 1 John. It’s known as "The Love Epistle" because it emphasizes love.
1 John 4:7-11
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
Do you see what John is telling us? Love defines who God is more than any other characteristic. In fact, says John, God IS love!
Jonah once had a chance to love some people on God's behalf. He was sent to preach to them, to give them a second chance, because God was about to come down on them for their evilness.
Jonah chose, instead, to run. He didn't want them to be saved! He actually said he would rather die than love them.
How tragic! God calls us to love those around us, not hate them. Love is what Jesus is all about! He came to earth for that very purpose—to show us how to love. Love doesn’t work when we decide who we want to love and who we reject. Love that is real and from God has to be put into action and it has to go where God chooses.
That kind of love is valuable for the very reason that it is so hard to do. It’s not easy loving the unlovable, but God has called us to do exactly that. I mean, that’s what He did, right?
He loved us when we were still rebelling against Him and living in our own sinfulness. He reached down into the mite, dragged us out of it, cleaned us up and showered us with His love.
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Do you want to be like Jesus? Go find someone that needs a good dose of God's love. From what I read, that’s who God loves the most.
