Scripture reminds us to love and serve the Lord by loving and serving others. Whatever we do for others, we do for God. Freedom means we have choices. One way we can use our freedom to better serve the Lord could be in choosing to love anyone not easily loved. When we really love someone (or are very attracted to them) loving and serving them is easy and even selfishly motivated at times because we want to please them to make them love us!
Imagine spending a few summer days at a beautiful cabin on a lake with a close friend, spouse or someone with whom you really enjoy spending time. Sharing time with someone we love is easy and fun! However, God calls us even beyond easy love into a deeper love.
Now imagine spending a few summer days at a beautiful cabin on a lake with someone for whom you are not feeling that love… namely that neighbor, that relative or that politician, or even that husband or that wife. Will the cabin experience feel the same?
Loving the way God frees us to love becomes a greater challenge as we are faced with loving that person. This love is not selfishly motivated in our feel-ing, but rooted in the freedom and decision to love for the sake of relationship.
Jesus was all about relationships.
The difficulty for us to love that person is in direct proportion to the lack of love we feel for that person, yet Christ’s call is far greater than any difficulty. Jesus calls us to love wholly and completely, regardless of how we feel about someone. Loving can at times be so painful that it hurts. Jesus knows this. He lived and died loving us this way.
The freedom to choose love transcends our own desires. Jesus suffered and gave his life for us. He calls us not to be crucified on a cross, but to love and serve others. Name that person and choose to love that person… every time. Jesus did.
Pray for the strength to accept His love challenge.
