As Christians we talk about love a lot. Sadly, for many, that is all we do, talk. The Bible tells us to love God and love one another. But what does that mean in practice?
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I Corinthians 13: 4-7
So in other words, Love doesn't lash out at people when they aren't nice to us. It isn't envious of other people's success or possessions or beauty. Love isn't rude to people when we have had a bad day. Love doesn't have to have its own way all the time. Love doesn't let people make you get mad. Love doesn't sit around thinking about doing bad stuff. Love isn't happy when it sees sin. Love is happy because it knows what is true. True love can put up with suffering and still love.
"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James 2: 14-17
The evidence that we love others is in our actions. The evidence is not that we walk around talking about how much we love others, but the evidence is that we actually do things for others. If your brother is in need and you tell him or her you will pray for them but do nothing to actually help them yourself then all you have done is talked about your love.
Jesus loved us while we were still sinners. Do we love, do we forgive, those who sin against us? How can I love someone, really, if I can't forgive them. Sometimes in our own strength it is nearly impossible to forgive but in Christ we can forgive the unforgivable.
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8
"Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins." Proverbs 10:12
What do Peter and the author of Proverbs mean when they say that "love will cover a multitude of sins" ? As John Piper says, "Love wants peace, not conflict. Love wants holiness, not sin. Love wants the good of the sinning person, not public vengeance." Love will overlook hurts and misdeeds. It will make us eager to let go and overlook the sins of others towards us so that the person we are dealing with will see God's love in our patience and endurance.
Jesus himself gives us a story that exemplifies what love towards others really means. Love isn't just offered to our family, to our church family, to people who are the same color as us or to people with the same socio-economic status. Love is action and it is to be given to anyone who needs it.
In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 Jesus answers the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Three men pass by an injured man but only one stops to help. We see that the Jewish man, lying naked and beaten by bandits on the side of the road, was bypassed by two other Jewish men - a priest and a Levite. These men would have been considered his neighbors.
The very people who were supposed to be most knowledgeable about God could not be bothered to help, whether out of fear or simply lack of love. The Samaritan however, who belonged to a group of people that were hated by the Jewish people, saw simply a human being in need.
The Samaritan people were so despised Jewish literature says this about them: “He that eats the bread of the Samaritans is like one that eats the flesh of swine.” (Mishna Sheviit 8:10) The Samaritan is the last person a Jewish man would consider his neighbor.
The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, placed him on his animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him. When the Samaritan left the next day he left money for the man's care and promised to repay the innkeeper if the man's expenses were more than that.
The Samaritan went far beyond what many would have done. What situation have you been in where you went the extra mile for someone that you knew didn't like you? Maybe even hated you? The scripture never says that the man thanked the Samaritan. The Samaritan is our Lord's example of someone who loved, who was a neighbor, not just in word, but in deed.
The Samaritan didn't just pause on the road to pray for the man, he didn't just bandage his wounds and leave him, he didn't just get him a room for the night, but actually took care of him, and he didn't just leave him with nothing, but made sure there was money for the man's continued care.
Can you think, right now, of someone that doesn't like you? Maybe someone who hates you. Now imagine that you help this person, a lot, and they don't even thank you. Can you imagine still showing love to them? Jesus says we must.
In today's world we see so much division and separation. Jesus says we are each other's neighbor and that we need to act like it. Can you imagine a world where what Jesus taught was put into action? Instead of people tearing each other down they would lift each other up. Instead of people waiting for someone else to help they would reach out and help others themselves to the best of their ability.
Do we look at others and see a different color? See a different religion? See a different sexual orientation and say NO I can't help that person; I won't serve that person. I can't be their neighbor. Jesus asks hard things from us sometimes. Jesus washed the feet of the man He knew would betray Him. Think about that....
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