True Love

Day 20- True Love

Luke 6:35-36 NIV

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Anytime i have to I read the verses above, I keep reminding myself that Jesus is asking me to treat my enemies this way, not my friends.  The world has taught us the principles of sowing and reaping, so that we are conscious of what we do to others so we can expect much more from them. God's Word however teaches the same sowing and reaping, but on broader terms than the world's. The world asks that I sow, so I can reap from where I sow, God teaches me to sow, because he alone can cause seed and fruit to spring up from places I never even sowed in the first place. The world asks that I sow seed into grounds that are prepared and favourable to the seed, so that naturally, the seed will bear fruit, God teaches me to sow seed into grounds that does not look favourable or attractive. This is because he is the One who produces bread for the eater and seed for the sower, and he has not run out of ideas on how to make the grounds of our lives bring forth increase beyond our investment.

I have learnt that God's principles and lessons run deeper than the world's expectations. I cannot run my life on the world's terms and expect heaven's blessings; I cannot run with the world's rules and demand heaven's prizes. I must walk, run and live according to heaven's standards and expectations if I'm to really enjoy the fullness of the blessings that heaven has for me. One of heaven's standards is to love regardless of the response and reaction. Love does not act simply because it is appreciated; love acts because it is in its nature to act. Love does not wait for an appropriate or equal response; love acts, no matter who the target is or what s/he has done. God sent his Son to die for us, not because we had done him any favours or we were good people then, but his love looked beyond what it could get to what it could give to make a difference.

That is the love God has called us to. It is the loudest message we can preach to the world through our lives, conduct, conversation and company. It is the kind of love God showed and is still showing, and all who claim to know God must love the way he loved. We cannot do less and we cannot hide. The moment I gave my life to Christ, I simply asked God to make me a city set on a hill, whose light cannot be hid. I must shine His light to the world and make him known, and love for all, no matter what, is the way to go. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, teach me to love others the way you have loved me. Help me be an effective witness for you through my life, words and conduct. Amen.