“Servant God” is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. One of the cool concepts discussed in the chapter entitled, “What is Sin?” is that of the ‘Law of Love’. It says, “Love is other centered and outward moving. The law of love is the law of giving… When the God of love created, He created all life in harmony with His own character of love. Life is constructed to exist only when operating in perfect other-centered love. All life, health, and happiness are dependent upon harmony with this law (Romans 1:20, 13:8).” What if we lived as if this is true? What if we spent our days focused on loving others rather than on ourselves? We were created to bring glory to God by displaying His love to others. This is what it looks like when life works best.
God outwardly expressed His love for each of us when He sent His only Son to die in our place. He set the example for us to follow. The cross shows that we should hold nothing back for the sake of love. True love is worth whatever means the most to us. No sacrifice is too great. We probably all have known someone for whom we would consider giving our lives. What we must understand is that God calls us to have those same feelings for every person on the planet. He did not discriminate when He sent His son. Jesus died for both the lovers and the enemies of God. He died for the obedient and the unlawful. As followers of Jesus, God is our model. As He loved, so must we also.
It’s easy to love our friends and family. Everyone does that (Luke 6:32-34). To show the same love to strangers or worse yet, those who intend to do us harm, seems a bit much to ask. But God loves them as much as He loves you. People – all people – are at the center of God’s heart. He has no affinity for your skin color, language, or nationality. The great, incomprehensible, unconditional love of God is poured out in equal measure across all of humanity. This is the call for each of us as well. We are to love every person we encounter with an unconditional love, remembering that each person has unsurpassable worth in the eyes of God. When we love the hard to love, we begin to look like Jesus.
How much time and energy can we honestly say we put into loving strangers and enemies? Aren’t we more likely to look past someone in need than to stop and see how we can be of service in the name of Jesus? If we want to live a life that looks like Christ, we must begin to develop a love for those outside our immediate circle, those we don’t know, and even those we loathe. Jesus didn’t disqualify us from His love; who are we to restrict His love from another?