Devotionals

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“He Loves Them Too”
Friday, June 17, 2005 †

“Her many sins have been forgiven; has shown great love” (Luke 7:49).


“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Remember that famous quote? Jesus prayed those words to His merciful Father for those who had just nailed Him - hands, feet, and body - to the cross. Do you think it means that Jesus forgave those guilty ones that day? Do you think that He loved them?

Let’s put it another way, though this fails in comparison to that which was just mentioned. Imagine finally making it to heaven and the first people you see are those who physically hurt you, emotionally wronged you, and for a period of time spiritually defeated you. What would your thoughts be? It is difficult to believe, and perhaps even more so to swallow, the notion that GOD LOVES YOUR ENEMIES too, even with all their sinfulness and imperfections. The thought almost make you want to ask, ‘well what is the point of me wasting my energy trying to be good then?’ - Right? This is an area that we all might fall within from time to time, especially when we are bitter and upset. But who among us is not imperfect? We all are; we just vary in degree.

What we must remember is that, the point isn’t to find the easiest way to elude God. The point is to find a way to get closer to God and the way we do that is to seek perfection from ourselves, as God has always sought perfection from us all, like a good Father of His children. And His reason for doing so is because He desires for us to be like Him in His image – not in body but in spirit. For those who are the mean ones or the bad ones, even the evil ones, God seeks perfection from them too, but He knows that they would require help from the Holy Spirit to work within them a little more than in a person who is already on God’s path of light.

The Good Sheppard never deserts anyone of His lost sheep. Therefore, in the effort to become perfect like Christ, we must first try to love as Christ did. Perhaps we can begin by praying for that irritating co-worker that we all have, or maybe for the jerk that just cut us off on the freeway so that he/she may get to their destination safe and sound. Maybe we can begin by … loving that person in our life that we often take for granted every day – our spouse, children, or even ourselves; praying for someone who we never even considered as being worthy of our prayers or our love – the homeless guy at the street corner; thinking kindly of someone who we simply overlook in our daily lives – quiet the neighbor, postman, janitor.

Maybe we can begin by simply just praying.

α†Ω

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