20. Love shared…
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, who they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4: 20-21
Now here’s a thought – if you were to fill a glass with water to the very top, could you then add some oil? Or if the glass was full of oil, could you then add water? What would happen if the glass was half full of water and you added oil? Obviously the first two questions would be answered with “no’ but the third is trickier. You could add the oil to the water but it would not mix. Oil and water are mutually exclusive.
What has this to do with today’s verses? John is telling us that love and hate are mutually exclusive. If we try to love God but harbour hatred for a brother or sister (I believe John refers here to fellow believers but this extends beyond to all people) then hatred will be what fills us to the brim leaving no room for loving God. God has made us for love. His desire is that we are filled to the brim with his love, so that it spills over into the lives of others.
We can’t choose who we love and who we hate. We can’t be a glass that is full of a mix of water and oil as they simply don’t mix. If we claim to love God, then that love will fill us to overflowing leaving no room for hate. When God’s love flows through us, and we return that love, then hate can’t co-exist.
This is not to say we can’t hate people’s sinful actions. We should hate the things that God hates – the actions that cause pain and misery throughout the world. Murder, lies, oppression, slander, etc. But God calls us to love those who sin and to pray for their salvation. Jesus’ story of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20 makes it clear that it is never too late to receive salvation. The workers come at various times of the day to be hired and at the end of the day they are all paid the same. God’s love and saving grace are not reserved for those who come early into faith and there is no greater measure of love for these than those who come at the twilight of their lives – the soldier who receives Christ on the battlefield, the prisoner who accepts Jesus before his death sentence is carried out. All are welcome in the kingdom of God, all are to be loved.
Prayer: Lord, I confess that I don’t always find it easy to love others all the time. There are times of anger and frustration which allow hatred to bubble up in me and smother love. Forgive me for those times and restore to me the love that gets crowded out. Help me to see every person as you see them, through the eyes of your love.
Amen
Action: Today, in each encounter you have with another person, seek to love them with the love God has bestowed on you and, in those moments when you feel hatred (or even dislike) bubbling up, ask God’s forgiveness and for his love to once more flow through you.
Journal your thoughts…
