“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but since you are usually not of the world, but I selected you out of the world, due to this fact the world hates you.” – John 15:19
To love God is to be hated by the world. Christians will probably be laughed at, neglected, rejected, bullied, yelled at, physically harmed, and even murdered for what they imagine. We decide to be set apart by saying “no” to sexual immorality, laziness, materialism, exploitation, etc. We can concurrently reject the world’s values while loving the people who find themselves so lost that they can’t see how lost they’re.
Forgiveness is a component of how we love counter-culturally. We forgive because we’re forgiven, and God commands it: Jesus told us that if we don’t forgive others, the Father is not going to forgive us. (Matthew 6:15) We don’t forgive because the world forgives – to let go of bitterness and move on with life – but to obey a loving and forgiving Father. We forgive as an invite to repeatedly receive Christ’s forgiveness for ourselves and to introduce a loving God to those that hurt us. Like God, we don’t want anyone to die other than him. (2 Peter 3:9)
10. Love Is Here
“If you like me, keep my commands. And I’ll ask the Father, and he offers you one other advocate to aid you and be with you perpetually— the Spirit of truth.” – John 14:15-17
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). When he ascended into Heaven, Jesus left his Holy Spirit as a helper, and he promised to return. Hear the tenderness in these words: “If I’m going and prepare a spot for you, I’ll come again and can take you to myself, that where I’m, you might even be” (John 14:3). The Lord desires to live with us, his children, for eternity. He is making things ready to return back and get us. Jesus loves us and is not going to be gone perpetually.
But he can be with us on a regular basis. The Triune God is continuously present by his Spirit, and this will not be like leaving a representative or a deputy either. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One. By His Spirit, we have now God himself in our lives, loving us and showing us find out how to love well. PLUS, we have now the promise that Christ will come and wipe away our tears – that is the very image of a tender-hearted, earthly father making the whole lot right. Because he has kept every promise, he has shown us the very best examples of a love that keeps its guarantees and serves others; we will trust Jesus to do that.
Godly love will not be easy, and it was never designed to be. Nothing easy or low cost is value having. But following a loving God who got here in person to indicate us find out how to love well is definitely worth the hardship of attempting to love people who find themselves hard to like, including ourselves. And because we follow a loving God, we receive consolation once we repent of failing to like as we ought. We get to walk and talk with the One who knows us fully and still loves us. May we show others what his love is like, despite the fact that we will barely comprehend “the breadth and length and height and depth, […] the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”. (Ephesians 3:18-19)
Sources: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_john/4-19.htm
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-does-the-bible-teach-about-love/
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