JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF THE SON (Series)
-through the eyes of John
Loving the Undesirable
1 John Chapter 4
By Candace Williams
Today’s lesson has to do with love. Love can be the greatest joy in one’s life or it can be tragic. But whatever the outcome, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said; the greatest commandment is to love one another as we love ourselves.
But why is that? Why was it so important to Jesus that we love one another?
There will always be a person or people in our lives that will cause us to question our ability to love. They are the people that I call, “undesirables.”
An undesirable is someone who can’t take no for an answer; someone who doesn’t respect personal space. People we tend to just overall find annoying. Or maybe that are just mean and rude. I’m sure we can all think of more examples. And I am sure you can at times put yourselves in that category, as well. Simply put an undesirable person who displays undesirable behavior.
So this brings me back to my first question. Why was it so important to Jesus that we love one another?
The answer to that can be found in vs. 7 & 8. 1. Because love comes from God. 2. Because anyone who does not love, does not know God!
And how do we know this?
The answer to that is quite simple. How do you feel when someone pours their love onto you? Let me first say this; love is more than a 4-letter word, or emotion or feeling. Love is a verb – an action word. People don’t know you love them just because you feel it or say it, but because you show it. Love is an outward expression to match your inner feelings.
Verse 9 says, God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
1 John 3:18 says,
“My children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do in truth.”
1 John 4:11 says,
“if God loved us that much; then we should love one another.”
You know, it’s easy to love someone you like. That’s the easy part. And there is great reward in that, BUT…the greatest reward is in loving the people we can’t stand or much rather not be around or have anything to do with. Because then, you’re displaying your “Christ-like” qualities. Then you’re stepping outside of yourself and making the choice to love that person.
Notice I said, “choice.” Because it truly is a choice. You could choose that you don’t want to love someone because of their actions or the way they behave. But you know, Christ loves us not matter what we do. And what would happen to us if God stopped loving us for bad choices, behaviors or actions we made? What would happen to us if God hadn’t sent his only Son to the world so that we may have eternal life?
It’s not always easy, anyone who has family, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends knows that sometimes we can really hurt & deeply wound one another. And we don’t always mean to, but we are after all human. And sometimes we have people who just want to continue to cause us pain and the book of Romans has a great lesson on that.
Romans 12:14-21 says,
”Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Or we can refer to Colossians 3:12-15 which says,
"Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful."
There are so many examples of love in the Bible, we just need to be willing to seek it out and put it to practice!
How can we truly say we know God, if we’re not willing to love people no matter who they are or what they do, the way God Himself loves us? We can’t.
Believe me you’re not alone in this struggle to learn to love unconditionally. And loving someone unconditionally doesn’t mean that we have to tolerate bad behavior. It simply means that we love the person for who they are and at times from a distance. Yet still we continue to display love towards them and not rip them apart. God loves us no matter what we do and God meets us where we are and we need to be willing to do the same for others.
Because again as verse 19 of Romans says,
"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Which simply means when we continue to be good towards those who display bad and wrong behavior to us, God then will place the judgment & shame on them. We don’t have to be nasty or curse them or hurt them back. We continue to walk in the teachings of Christ and share the love of Christ with the world.
Let me leave you with this thought from Romans 12:9-12,
"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality."