Love Isn't Earned But Given

Matthew 5 : 43 - 48, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV

If there is a message that resounds throughout the New Testament, other than the gospel of Christ, it is that no one can earn God's love. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that salvation isn't about works; it is a gift of God. Grace comes from who God is, and He is love. Until we freely accept God's love, we will always struggle with unworthiness and the need to measure up to a certain standard. You accept God's love by believing that He loves you as you are. Could it be that we often struggle with receiving God's love because we (humans)  sometimes make others earn our love, before we give it to them?  

One of the hardest portions of scripture in the New Testament for me personally is Matthew 5. Jesus doesn't mince His words with those who are considering becoming His disciples. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the requirements for becoming His disciple. When you read the entire chapter, it doesn't take long to realize that we can't fulfill His requirements apart from God's grace and the Holy Spirit. After all, it was for this reason that Jesus came to earth, suffered, and died on a cross (that should have been ours) because we couldn't live it.

In the text that I used today, we see that Jesus requires us to return good for evil and to love those who don't deserve our love. Human nature wants to argue with the Holy Spirit when He convicts us to obey this command. "Lord, this person hasn't done anything worthy of my love." However, through this one scripture, Jesus shows us how (agape') God's kind of love operates. His love isn't based upon our ability to do something to earn or even deserve it. It isn't based upon our ability to repay or reciprocate His love. God's love for us is based on His will. Doesn't Paul tell us that God loved Jacob, but He hated Esau? Yes. Therefore, by His will, God has chosen to love us, even while we were still sinners and hostile toward Him. By the same token, Jesus requires those of us who choose to accept His love and His gift of eternal life to love others the same way that God, for Christ's sake, has loved us. By our love, we will show or prove that we are the children of God. 

I've already told you that chapter 5 has been a challenging portion of scripture for me personally. Even so, allow me to share a secret with you that I have discovered. When I choose to show love (out of my obedience to Jesus) to someone who hasn't done anything deserving of my love, I am set free from the chains of the fallen human nature that wants me (us) to disobey Jesus' commands. 

Furthermore, God gives me His empowering grace to obey commands that are humanly impossible to do at times, so that He can bless my obedience. The more we allow ourselves to do God's will and follow through with our commitment to keep the Word, the freer we become. As a result, we will be a greater witness to the world, and we will bring glory to our heavenly Father. The next time someone deserves your wrath, ask the Lord to help you show them His love.

Walking It Out!
Pastor Asa Dockery