Devotions ... Loving like God

By: 
Cathy Bayert

Anger, hurt, accusation abound.  When someone disagrees with our opinions, they are labeled haters.   Have we lost our ability to love even by measure?  In conversation, rather than listening and learning, are we looking for the breath to interject an opinion-override demanding acknowledgement of our supremacy in intelligence.
Christians strive to live “above the world” as the song “Higher Ground” encourages.  If we say we love God but hate our brother, our fellow human being, we’re liars.  If we can’t love our fellow man, whom we physically see, we can’t possibly love God, whom we can’t.  If we love God, we should love our fellow man also. (1 John 4:20 – 21)
Love certainly does not mean we agree with everything the other person says or does but to love is to extend patience as we would hope they would us. Love does mean we extend kindness in the face of disagreement; we do not shout the other person down or demonize them by calling them names.  Are we now children who when they don’t want to hear what someone is saying, cover their ears and yell?  We need to interact with others of differing opinions to grow and mature as human beings and find balance.
Love doesn’t just look to create a group of people who agree with them so they can fight those who do not.  It means extending courtesy, looking out for others. (Philippians 2:4)  We must appreciate those whose ideas and perspectives are foreign to us.
If love’s expression is limited to a warm feeling inside and a smile it lacks value for it is only self centered.
Love challenges us to extend kindness to the bristly.  It should be uncomfortable.  We English speakers lack the definitions of the kinds of love Greek speakers understand.  They have at least three words bearing different descriptions of love:  phileo, eros, and agape.  Phileo is the term for brotherly love:  love of companions, friends and buddies.  Eros describes intimate physical expressions of love.  But Agape is a self-sacrificing love, the kind of love God expressed for us when Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life willingly took in his own body on the cross the penalty for our sins.  The penalty for sin is death, separation from the life-giver.  We choose death every time we choose not to do what God has told us is life-giving to us:  We consider the ten commandments in Exodus 20 an expression of what God demands of us.  Jesus boiled down its essence to two commands:  Love God and love your fellows (Your neighbor as yourself)
Loving is not always safe ideologically or emotionally.  Extending ourselves for others is like exercise, it builds our faith muscles.  We should be ready to give a reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15) and the love of God  (Romans 5:5) be extended to others. Opportunities to engage with others of unfamiliar viewpoints and experiences don’t come along every day but let us “scale the utmost heights” and let faith catch “the joyful sound” of those who’ve gained “higher ground.” (Higher Ground lyrics by Johnson Oatman Jr.)
(Cathy Bayert is pastor of Greybull First Baptist Church.)

 

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