Can I Love Like Jesus?
But you must return to your God, maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
(Hosea 12:6-7)
Today it seems we live in a world that is convinced we must take drastic measures about our views and beliefs. We are pressured into thinking that agreeing with one political party means hating the other. We're told that we must view things in black or white. We must be left or right. If we aren’t a feminist, we’re a sexist, and I think we can skip right over the vaccination discussion here because it’s no secret that we’re divided on this one. One thing I think we can all agree on is that our world is utterly torn. In the midst, I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I wonder what He thinks as He looks down on all of us modern-day extremists who seem to believe we have all the answers, especially since He is the only one who knows if we have been consulting Him for these answers that we claim to have.
What is your view of Jesus? Do you believe He is an extremist? Well, I don't know anyone else who chose death on a cross to save a wretched world from the darkness of their sin. So, I guess in that regard, yes, He absolutely is. But why did Jesus do this? Why did He die for us? Why would He have gone to this drastic measure? I believe the answers are love and wrath.
Love: Jesus loved us so very much that He was willing to take on every ounce of sin this world would ever hold within it so that Heaven wouldn't be without us.
Wrath: Without the sacrifice that He made for us, there was no way to pay the price for our sins. There was no way to satisfy God's wrath for the darkness that we sinners would bring into this world.
I have often heard a faithful Christian mentor and friend of mine describe God's position to His children like the two sides of a coin. One side is love, and the other is authority. The sides are equal sizes, and He isn’t more of one than the other. Between His love and wrath, I have found that His grace is always right there in the middle. In my Christian walk, and in all aspects of life that have us so divided in this world, I keep finding Jesus right there in that place of grace. I want to cling to Him here in this place because the world around me is shouting all sorts of things.
We are all hardwired with different pasts, experiences, cultures, struggles, and weaknesses. God designed us this way. We have all experienced the world differently, and so we see it differently. These differences mold and shape our beliefs and our stance on certain matters. If our differences are aligned with God's truth, we do not have to be divided because, in Christ, we have this one beautiful commonality. We can be woven together and unified through this one thing, and that is more than enough! And when our differences don’t align with God’s truth, we can still love those who don’t share our beliefs. Jesus told His followers that the world would know that we were his disciples if we love one another (John 13:35) and Peter echoes His teacher's command by saying, "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8).
Christian, I know this world is heavy right now. I know that hearts are hurting, and spirits feel broken. I know that my beliefs and thoughts about the world may very well be different from your own, and my heart is okay with that. But I want to encourage us all to examine our hearts and our motives right now. Have you found yourself so one-sided in the divisive battles of our nation that your heart has hardened? Can you try to see through the eyes of another? Think about the words you speak, the thoughts you think, the comments you post.
Do you love people? Are you showing the world you are His disciple?
I want to live out the rest of my life asking myself that question. Do people know that I'm a disciple of Christ by my love for those around me? I don't want to take sides. I don't want to hate or be extreme unless my extreme means gushing out the love of Jesus. Before I am a democrat or a republican, I am a child of God, and before I stand for anything, I stand for the gospel. I hope to live a life that will declare my title by honoring His authority and equally loving others enough to share His faithfulness and goodness with them, even those who don't think like me. I want to find myself right there in the middle with Him, wrapped up in His loving grace with my eyes fixed so intently on Him that the shouts and demands of the world around me just fade away. Only then can I learn to give others just a portion of the grace that He lavished upon me.
