Love a Little, Lose a Lot
Everyone knows the saying “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and Christians everywhere will effortlessly recite that we are to love one another. But what exactly does it mean?
Too often our standard of love to others varies depending on who the other person is. A close relative or dear friend may expect us to go the second mile and not be disappointed. However a work colleague or passing acquaintance may have to satisfy themselves with passing pleasantries and empty promises. Is this OK?
The Bible makes it clear that real love is not seen in our love to God but in His love for us and in the sacrifice of His son for us. This sacrifice was made necessary by our waywardness. Please note that God’s love reached out to us while we were still busy ignoring Him, denying Him and generally pleasing ourselves. Even then He loved us enough to do something about it. To go far more than the extra mile we speak of, His is real love.
So when He asks us to love each other it is unlikely that He means that we can do so just through repeating the words without showing it in our actions. Everywhere you look in the Bible, God is a God of action, of consistency and purpose. He demonstrates what He means through His actions.
The strength of His feelings is seen in the degree of commitment He demonstrates to His children. His love can be seen through what He does.
So next time someone needs some of your time for practical help or a listening ear, or when you find that you are fighting your conscience over what you know you should do to help another but really don’t want to, do stop and remember this. God gave a life for you when you really didn’t deserve it. It was His only son’s life. That is love. That is real commitment.
“Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”
Romans 5: 7-8 (NLT)
“This is real love. It is not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”
1 John 4:10,11 (NLT)