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Loving God by Loving Others

By Matthew Hamilton 3 Comments

Photo Credit: Chris Ford @ Flickr (CC)

Photo Credit: Chris Ford @ Flickr (CC)

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e use the word love frequently, often without thought. We say we love pizza from a certain pizzeria. We say we love a certain television show and take time out of our schedule to make sure we don’t miss it. We often say we love a certain holiday, such as Christmas or Easter, but often care more about the celebration than the reason for celebrating. These are all situations where it is easy to love, mainly because the affection is directed toward an inanimate object or an abstract idea.

There are also situations where love is needed but not present. These situations are difficult because the person we should love might not seem to deserve it. And, even if we think that the receiver is deserving of love, the love might not be received. When we are called to love others, both Christians and non-Christians, the Bible does not give us loopholes to avoid loving those that we want to avoid.

One of the recurring themes in Jesus’ teaching is love. He doesn’t spend his time talking about loving things but, rather, about loving people.

Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other. (John 13:34-35, The Message)

[bctt tweet=”Jesus doesn’t spend his time talking about loving things but, rather, about loving people.”]

It is important to know that Jesus was setting a precedent here: identifying a group by love. Jesus offered a new community of purpose, one built on reaching out to one another and taking others into consideration first as opposed to militant government or religious law. During this time there were other ways to be identified: by force (the Roman army) or by fear of breaking the law (religious leaders such as the Pharisees). These were the normal ways that groups imposed their ideas on others, and it was mostly against their own will. Jesus was offering something entirely new. He offered a community you could choose to be a part of, one that did not require taking, but conversely giving of yourself as an act of love.

The author of the books of John speaks often about how followers of Jesus should make love the highest priority. In fact, it is a matter of life and death. As John says, “The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead” (I John 3:14, The Message). It becomes clear that, not only should Christians show love, it should be our defining characteristic.

It may be difficult at times to show love to our fellow Christians. Even with our shared devotion to Christ, we are the same fallible humans with the same tendency to inflict hurt, cause distrust, and show jealousy. It is only because of our devotion to God that we can rise above the worst parts of our nature. If our focus is on the love that God shares with us and that we share with each other, there is less time for the things that divide us. In many ways, it’s much easier to love God. There are so many reasons to be grateful to the Creator, the one who provides current and eternal life. When we are commanded to direct the love that we have been given to other people, things become more difficult. John recognized this dilemma nearly 2000 years ago, and it still holds very true today:

If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. (I John 4:20-21, The Message)

“If our focus is on the love that God shares with us and that we share with each other, there is less time for the things that divide us.”

It might be easier to love fellow Christians that we consider friends, but what about those who bring us trouble and pain? These are the people that are the hardest to love and often the ones that need it the most. Jesus knew that sharing love with these people could yield the most reward:

You’re familiar with the old written law, “Love your friend,” and its unwritten companion, “Hate your enemy.” I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. (Matthew 5:43-44, The Message)

While Jesus is sharing his love with us, he is calling on us to share it with others, thereby making others better when they know his love and us better when we share it.

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Filed Under: Connect, Featured, God Talk Tagged With: Issue 25

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Comments

  1. Sam Taylor says

    March 23, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    If I am not loving you I’m not loving God, so as I love you I am worshipping God, so loving you is worshipping God for his command is to love one another and in obedience to God’s conand to love we please Him when we do . PS the more we love the more He gives us . So it’s Ortho proxy ie the
    more we practice the more we give away the more He gives us not our love but His. Amen

    Reply
    • Mike says

      August 19, 2020 at 10:04 am

      Yes. Great comment. This is exactly why I came here today. I’ve been asking God to help me love Him more and then I read this Scripture and since it said that it was easier to love people, who we can see, rather than a God who we cannot see, it seemed that we need to first do the easier of the two, which is love people, so that we can then do the more difficult, which is to love God. Then I thought of the Scripture about, “that which you have done for the least of these you have done for me” and I thought, oh my goodness, since people are God’s creations whom He loves intensely, when we show them love, we are, in fact, showing HIM love. So, it seems that we love God BY loving those whom He created.

      Reply
  2. Marianna Albritton says

    July 15, 2020 at 9:04 pm

    Thanks for this great article Matthew! <3
    A close relationship with God is possible for everyone.
    Regardless of your past circumstances and mistakes, there is always a chance for you to develop a relationship with the Creator.
    Please read my blog: 4 Ways to Develop a Close Relationship with God
    Hope this will also help. Thank you and God Bless you..

    Reply

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Sadly in our world today, kindness has lost its va Sadly in our world today, kindness has lost its value. But as we see from some of the examples in Scripture, kindness is to be shown in all of our interactions with others. It is a gift from God through the work of the Holy Spirit, and taught by Jesus Christ. We can no longer walk past. Now, more than ever, we need to bring kindness back. We have to especially show the younger generation’s constant examples of kindness. We can hold the door for one another; allow someone to go ahead of us in line. Smile with compassion at the clerk whose line is one person too long and everyone is staring at him or her as if it’s their fault. ⁠
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Charles Swindoll writes, “Wisdom isn’t somethi Charles Swindoll writes, “Wisdom isn’t something that is exclusive to those who have exceptional IQs or advanced degrees. Rather, wise behavior in the eyes of the Lord comes as a result of obeying the Lord’s commands.” Resist the urge to think that a smart person with a lot of knowledge is wise. Author Paul David Tripp says there “is a huge difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is an accurate understanding of truth. Wisdom is understanding and living in light of how that truth applies to the situations and relationships in your daily life. Knowledge is the exercise of your brain. Wisdom is the commitment of your heart that leads to transformation of your life.” ⁠
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Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to die on the cross to take punishment for our sins, God reminded people of the importance of fearing him. God is not only our savior, comforter, and friend who promises to be with us always (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20), but also the most powerful being in the universe. There is a place for the right kind of fear—the reverential awe and respect—in our lives.⁠
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Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Word who brings light and life to the darkness. Jesus is God’s Word that comes to us, to those who are dwelling in darkness. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus declares his mission to be in John 12:46: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” This Light and Darkness imagery pervades the gospel of John. People love darkness because they don’t want their actions, thoughts, motives to be exposed by the light. But the truth is that deep down we need (and want) to be seen. We want to be loved despite our dirtiest deeds and foulest feelings. We need to restore the relationship that Adam and Eve once had with God–complete openness, and deep love–but we can’t do it on our own. Only God can (and did through Jesus) bring that relationship back.⁠
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✍🏽: Brandon Hurlbert in "The Light of God's Love"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener a In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener and he prunes every branch that does not produce fruit. A person stuck in his or her ways of sin is like a prickly shrub growing a lot of branches with no fruit. These branches must be removed so good fruit can grow. In the same way as a bush is unable to prune itself, a person who is living in sin is unable to remove all the unfruitful branches in life. Paul described this condition in chapter seven of Romans when he called himself a wretched man and realized only Jesus can change him.⁠
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Jesus provides the essential elements for growth; he gives us his Word (the Bible) for fertilizer, other believers for sunshine, and the Holy Spirit for water. When our roots begin to receive this new water, sunshine, and fertilizer, new branches begin to grow. This time the branches are not prickly bushes, but beautiful new branches adorned with the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control,” (Galatians 5:22). Our old acquaintances will marvel at who we have become. When we allow God to be the gardener, he will shape us into his design.⁠
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As new creations, those who have been forgiven by As new creations, those who have been forgiven by and reconciled to Jesus, we now have the task of being reconciled to each other. As Christians, we are not just called to forgive others in our hearts but keep them at an arm’s length away. No, we are called to be of one heart and one mind (Acts 4:32) with our brothers and sisters—we are called to be reconciled.⁠
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We are faced with a challenge: to make God the cen We are faced with a challenge: to make God the center and purpose of our lives in a world of demands. God asks us to listen for his voice, and it’s no wonder why he chose to speak to Elijah in a “still, small voice” in 1 Kings 19:12-13. He doesn’t always shout at us because he wants us to choose to listen, to put other things aside so that all of our focus is towards discerning his will in the specifics of our lives. We have his will for us in general, as communicated in the Bible, which is to make disciples of all nations, to glorify the one true God, to serve no other gods, to love our neighbors as ourselves, etc., but sometimes we need to figure out how those general plans fit the specifics of our lives. Hearing God’s voice is part of how we relate to him, but in those moments of uncertainty, quieting ourselves becomes even more important.⁠
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✍🏽: @sarahjoysly in "Listening For A Whisper"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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