“HOW DO WE WEAR LOVE”?
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But now
I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you
on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And if someone takes you
to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops forces
you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. When someone asks you for something, give it
to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him. "You have
heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.' But now I tell
you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may
become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on
bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who
do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you?
Even the tax collectors do that! And if
you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary?
Even the pagans do that! You must be
perfect---just as your Father in heaven is perfect. ( Matt 5:38-48-GNB)
"Here's
another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for
tooth.' Is that going to get us
anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes
you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the
shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if
someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant
life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. "You're familiar with
the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate
your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm
telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the
worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of
prayer, for then you are working out of
your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his
best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the
good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you
expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If
you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any
run-of-the-mill sinner does that. "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up.
You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity.
Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. (Matt5:38-48-MSG)
Look at your neighbor, and say to them, How
do you wear love? Think about that for a
moment. Depending on the day, hour,
situation, circumstance and who I am dealing with, I must admit that I do not
always wear love that exemplifies the Lord. The Bible says, "I’m challenging that. I'm telling you to love your
enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives
you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer" (Matt, 5:44-MSG), Now, if the truth were to be told, rarely do any of us
respond that way. This too, is a
choice.
Beloved, it is a choice of our will. To make a choice to love others as God wants us; can be quite difficult. However, if our wills are submitted to
Christ, we can do it. Then it says;"
if someone gives us a hard time to respond with energies of prayer". In
other words, use our anger energy to
pray for that person. That also is a
choice of our will. We need to say to
the Lord, help me to pray for that person that so rudely crossed in front of
me. The Bible also says, “don’t hit back at all, if someone
hits you stand there and take it, “ (Matt 5: 39-MSG). That my beloved
is also a very difficult; I cannot help but wonder if any of us would be able
to make the choice to stand there and take it. It is my prayer that God would not allow us to be put in that situation.
It further tells us; " Why should God reward you if you
love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that!"(
Matt:5:46-GNB) In other words, it is easy to love
those who we know or feel love for us, but what about those who are unlovable?
Do we make a choice to love them in
spite of them? Then it says; "And if you speak only to your
friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that!"(
Matt :5:47-GNB) Because we are Christians and should wear love
differently, we should go beyond the realm of duty and make it a choice to
speak and talk to all persons.
Sometimes, for me, that is difficult. No matter where I am or who I am with. I can be in a restaurant and the waiter or waitress does not display a good
attitude toward me or constantly gets our order wrong or something else. In my unloving manner I can and sometimes
will make a choice not to tip them, or to decease the size of their tip based
upon their actions. In actuality I
should be making the choice to pray for them, and to give them a generous tip
to let them know the love and mercy of Jesus is extended to them.
As I have said before, how we wear love,
is definitely a choice of our wills. Let’s learn to wear love in the same manner that Christ wears it for us.
The
great Hippo of North Africa saw wearing love as this: " Hands to Help
Others, Feet to Hasten to the Poor and Needy, Eyes to See the Misery and Want,
and Ears to Hear the Sighs and Sorrows." What about us, can we wear love it in a similar way?
