Tough Love

Sometimes love comes so easily from others and flows freely from us to another. Rarely do we feel as though love must be earned; we simply want to return this gift of grace. But let's trade place. What happens if love must first come from us?

The reason for this blog is fairly apparent: I'm struggling to love a particular person right now, and I feel as though I have a justifiable reason for not. I could do without them in my life, after all they're not exactly a candidate for my wife (for that I will make a great sacrifice). Perhaps that's not reason enough for you, but it suits me perfectly in the pursuit of covering my sin to save my own skin. The thing is I'm completely content with mere politeness in passing but that's not what God is asking. Relax by the way...if you're reading this it's not about you! LOL

19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4

What I am relieved to know is that I cannot possibly do this on my own. We love because He first loved us... Notice the word in bold: first. Love is not inherent. It does not come from us; it is a response to Him. As fallen men of sin there is no one in Heaven or in Hell apart from God himself who can compel us to do this thing we were created to do that's been corrupted—life interrupted. We'd like to blame Adam and Eve but we probably wouldn't have written the beginning any differently had we been given the same opportunity.

Answer this question for me: Why do we expect others to earn our love? We fail to give the grace we've been given. A high price was paid for us. We owe nothing. Christ picked up the check by dying a brutal, painful death; and he did it without our love. Basically, we're taking a gift we've been given and attempting to sell it on the open market that's meant to be our mission field.

Somewhere we got the idea that love is supposed to be easy. Perhaps it was the quiet whispers of the Enemy. That explains why we bail on friendships instead of offering forgiveness, and we opt out of our marriages because of 'irreconcilable differences'. Loving first without the promise of it being returned requires us to do so selflessly.

45bHe causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? Matthew 5

I say bring on the IRS man; I'd rather love him. But seriously, what would it look like if we show the same love we give our family and friends to another human being in desperate need of him? That person may have fallen from our good grace, but they haven't fallen from His. My flesh can't really comprehend.

So what do we know to be true about L-O-V-E? It is part of our pursuit of God-like perfection. Matthew 5:48 Love sums up all of God's commands. Matthew 22:40 It is a sign that we are followers of Christ. John 13:35 Love is part of living a life worthy of the calling we have received. Ephesians 4:1 It is a sign of purity in us. 1 Peter 1:22 Those who love know God. 1 John 4:7-8 And God will be seen through us. 1 John 4:12

Leviticus 19:18 is another great verse about love: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. I am the Lord...I love that line. Simply translated, he's saying 'Who do you think you are to not do as I have done unto you?!'

The lesson on love can be summed up in one simple verse. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. 2 John 1:6 Sometimes we have to get our godly girdle on, cinch it up and love even when it's tough.