Who To Love
If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:8-9)
A story was told about a man who went to a particular church. This man was a drunkard. As he entered the church, the ushers upon recognising that he was drunk escorted him out of the church because he was drunk and smelling of alcohol. The man went out and his statement was that everywhere he went people didn’t like him and even the church that he could have solace have also rejected him. This is not something that should be happening. The uneducated goes to school to be educated, the hungry finds food in the kitchen, the unsaved/unbelievers need to be saved in our churches. The church has to show love to them rather than drive them away. For Jesus came for them and not the righteous, so should the church.
Love as described in the Bible is quite different from love as espoused by the world. Biblical love is selfless and unconditional, whereas the world’s love is characterized by selfishness. We see that love does not exist apart from God and that true love can only be experienced by one who has experienced God’s own love firsthand.
We are to take our eyes off ourselves and care for others. Can a dead body ever be hurt or hurt others? One who is dead to flesh and self cannot be hurt by others neither will he want to hurt anyone else. For such a person never sees himself more highly than he ought to nor sees anyone one who is below him for his pride is dead and all that can be seen is his humility. The Bible nowhere instructs us to hate ourselves. As a matter of fact, no man ever hates himself. What about those who commit suicide? Do they hate themselves? No they don’t. They in fact love themselves so much to ever see themselves suffer or go through hard times that is why they kill themselves and not that they hate themselves. Any one that says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? They work hand in hand with each other. You vertically love God and horizontally love one another. There should not be the case where the rich are the only ones who have positions in the church but everyone should be involved.
The greatest love a King can show an orphan on the streets is to adopt him into his own family and give him the same privileges and honours as his own children and even so this is as trifle compared to the honour God has bestowed on us. When you become born again there is a change in you that becomes obvious to all. You love people thus everyone around you without ever forcing; it becomes natural to love. That is your nature therefore walk in it.
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