Tuesday in the First Week After Trinity
“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from God: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:19-21)
In the Name of Christ. Amen. How hard is it to love people you don’t like? Sometimes it is a sibling that you just cannot stand, sometimes it’s the loudmouth down the hall in the dorm. You move along in life, thinking less-than-proper thoughts about these people, feeling not too badly about it, and then a text like this pops up.
You know better, of course. Love is the fulfillment of the Law, Jesus told us – love of God and love of neighbor. This is all well and good on paper, but does God really know what your fellow dorm-dwellers are like? Doesn’t God realize how you were let down by your brother? Does God know how much you were hurt by your “best” friend’s jibes?
Yes, He does. And no, He doesn’t ignore those events as minor little irritations. All of His children’s hurts are His concern. He wouldn’t be our loving Father if they weren’t.
Look at what else John says, though: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” Maybe that is our problem – getting rid of the fear we have over expressing love for others, especially those we might not like, or those who have wronged us.
Jesus is the perfect example of one who is able to love those who hated Him. But how can we ever live up to that standard? He’s God! I can’t do what God does! You’re right; none of us can.
John also says, “We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” The love we show to others doesn’t come from us. It isn’t us loving them – it is Christ in us doing it.
The next time the music is too loud, the comments are too coarse, or the person is just too annoying, remember that God first loved you when you were unlovable, and that He gave you the greatest gift anyone could give – the life of His Son to make you lovable. And yes, He did it for the guys down the hall, too. They are loved by God just like you are, and the Christ in you loves them just like He loves you. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Proverbs 15:16-33 1 Timothy 1:18-2:15 Matthew 12:33-42