Week Seven - Love's Challenge

I'm from the era when movies ended happily ever after, where families on TV portrayed healthy interaction, things always worked out for good, and childhood innocence was protected. 

Today, these things are seen as naive or too simple, not the honesty of life. Instead, we are bombarded with harsh realities, family breakdowns, expected failure, and open exploitation. How can we love those around us when evil lurks at every corner and the cold realities of life invade?

I guess it depends on where you begin. If you look at this world from where it is, things look bleak. But if you take your stance using the eyes of Christ, love is still challenging, but He makes it possible.

In Luke 6, Jesus gives us a lesson. "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other, and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."

Isn't that a challenge? To love those who hate you, pray for those who talk bad about you, and give to the undeserving? To enact the Golden Rule - do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

This is not the teaching of the world. This is the teaching of Christ and the expectation of every believer. It is the challenge of genuine Christian love. 

Christ continues His lesson with two more phrases we should seriously consider. Luke 6:35 says, "For he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." What? Be kind to those who are ungrateful and downright evil? Yes! God is good to all, even the undeserving. And then, Christ tells us why. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). 

Merciful? Yes! Love's challenge is remembering God's mercy showered upon us through Christ and then being examples and conductors of that mercy to others. 

How can that be done without showing love and patience to others? If they do not see love and mercy coming from us, how can we say we are lifting up Christ before them? What is the challenge of love if we only love ourselves and our own? The world does that much. (Luke 6:32-34) As a matter of fact, sometimes they outdo us in showing mercy. Let's not be guilty of failing to follow Christ's example. 

Let's accept the challenge and see if God doesn't use us to soften the harsh realities of life through the spreading of His Word and the use of His loving servants to a world desperately in need of Him.