Learning to Love
Matthew 4:43-48
Introduction: Have you ever been really hurt by another person. I’m not talking about your feelings being hurt; I mean hurt to the point of being speechless. I have, people have lied to me, lied about me, falsely accused me of a crime, folks within the church have even turned their back on me because that was easier than dealing with the truth. Folks that really cut to the heart and some if not all of you have been there as well. How did you react? Can you honestly say today that you could walk up that/those people and speak to them with love and share the love of Jesus Christ with them, invite them to church, pray for them or even help them somehow physically or financially. The word of God tells us we can. Today lets learn from Jesus how we can experience the victory that comes from “Learning to love.”
All of us have been unlovable.
All of us have experienced others who are unlovable.
The difference is we understand our circumstances better than those of other people.
The Pharisees were without excuse for their blatant disregard for the word of God. In more than one place in Gods law even the adversary is described as a neighbor i.e. Exodus 20:16 {one of the 10 commandments}; Proverbs 24:28 {do not deceive a neighbor}; Proverbs 25:18 {a description on one who intentionally injures his neighbor}…
The saved will learn love and live it.
The lost and the saved deal with the same issues of life, the lost handle it one way and the saved another.
Should we treat people the way we want to be treated or the way they treat us?
Which sets us apart and which makes us look like the world?
I know what to do but I don’t know how to do it?
Publicans were despised people (tax collectors) they were
the corrupt bureaucrats of today. Jesus used them as an illustration of the world, He was simply asking do you want to reflect the world
of the
God doesn’t want us to be sinless (perfect) as He is. God knows that is impossible for you and I on this side of eternity. Also God does not want us to use this for an excuse to sin intentionally. That is exactly what we are doing when we refuse to forgive, reconcile and love even those who do not love us. We don’t have to agree with them or support them but we are to treat them as God treated us when we were estranged from Him.
It’s easy to be friendly but God asks us to be complete as He is complete, in other words He asks us to treat the evil doers as He treats us/them, with mercy and grace.
He doesn’t mean we are to give occasion to be hurt, injured or set up but we are to extend a hand of love, kindness and forgiveness that only comes from a heart given by the Lord Himself.
Conclusion: Love isn’t hard but it cannot come from emotion, desire, expectation of a return or from knowledge alone. True genuine love toward another person can only come through the Holy Spirit. You see love is something that must come from the heart, it can only exist if you have experienced it yourself, that’s the only way you can ever possess it and have the ability to share it. Likewise just having it to share doesn’t mean you necessarily will. You cannot hold onto hurt, injury, disappointment or bitterness of the past, if you are a child of God you must put all of that behind you leave with the Lord at the cross. You may not forget about it but through the cross you can have deliverance from it, you can experience love and learn how to share it. How do you know when you have gotten there? You will love those who have harmed you, hurt you and used you. You may not trust them with the liberty to do it again but you will be able to look them in the eye, pray for them and when necessary do good things for them. Can you say you have learned to love?