At age 60 and having preached for 33 years, I am still, still, still, trying to enter into the zone of loving like Jesus loves. After all these years, I still don't get it. I am far too enmeshed in my own thrashing criticism, complaint, and suspicion issued toward others.
He says don't complain, and I am so judgmental I ruin His order. He says love does not take into account a wrong suffered. I seem to be a CPA when offended. I am ashamed at how far I miss the mark....embarrassingly ashamed.
Regarding sin, our lists would be flooded with those committed. Yet the one omitted, love, seems to race by us without awareness we sinned against His highest nature. Loving my neighbors? I don't even know half of them. While I like those I know all right, I don't see God's love pouring through me to them. Loving my enemies? I do genuinely pray for them by name that they receive enormous riches from God's kingdom, but I find I still don't really like them.
My perspective is we each have light years to grow in His call to love. How exciting! I speak it without condemning heart....else I would condemn myself. I speak it to awaken our awareness to treat humanityhood with the heart of Jesus. What an untapped, unspeakable wonder of a future we yet have if we gain even the slightest momentum in the urgent call of our Lord.
Love your neighbors and your enemies. And, should they happen to be one-in-the-same, then may they run into the perfect and happy face of God......yours.
2 comments:
You are so right, because are so wrong when compared to Christ.
I heard a story once about a preacher (can't remember his name) who was to preach on a certain subject one Sunday but, instead, stood in the pulpit and simply said, "Love as I have loved you" and sat down. He did this for several Sundays consecutively until finally the congregation seemed to understand that the greatest commandment is, indeed, that we love one onother. I can never love as Jesus loves, but if I allow Christ in me to love through me, I'll be much further down the road of loving than trying it out of my own strength.
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