A Hard Command To Follow

[hldude]

“A Hard Command To Follow”
By Zach Wood
John 15:12

I wanted to share a passage with you that I was reading the other day during my devotional time and it really spoke to me.

When I read that passage, I thought of all the excuses I so often use toward God about not loving certain people who have treated me wrong. But when I read this, I realize how much love God gave to me by coming to die for me and how little He asks for us to reach out and love others.

Loving others may seem like a very hard task, but when I consider what Jesus went through to show His love for me, I shouldn’t complain about His command to love others. This is not to say loving others is not difficult sometimes. But we must remember what was done for us through Christ’s death and sacrifice to show us love when we have a hard time loving others.

I find myself giving so many excuses when God tells me to love on someone who has wronged me or has done something to lose my respect. When people wrong us, hurt and/or do something that causes us to lose respect for them, we have a right to feel angry and frustrated. However, God never told us we have the right to hold a grudge or to avoid them and not show love.

I know there are so many different situations we can bring up and discuss where people argue of their reasoning to not to show to someone who has deeply hurt them or done something horrific in their family. I myself have felt and would probably feel the same way toward those who have done that, but I know that God tells me I need to show love as He has shown love to me.

Maybe there is someone you know right now that you have not shown any love toward because of what he or she has done. Would you pray that God would work in your heart and give you the ability and desire to show them love? I know that’s probably asking a lot, but just give that a try. It’s not a change that will happen overnight, but God will give us, through consistent prayer, the understanding and ability to love those who are hard to love.

Remember Jesus’ words, “Love each other as I have loved you.”

[Fadingman]

Thanks for bringing this passage up. It is definitely a hard command to follow, but it is also a most excellent command to follow.

It occurred to me as I read the verse again that Jesus' command is rooted in our experience of how He has already loved us. Jesus didn't say "Love each other as I will love you." It is only as I become more aware of the different ways that He has already loved me (even to this present hour) that I can understand how to better love those around me.