As believers and Christ-followers, we recognize God’s command to love others. But we struggle when we are tested through painful, real-life experiences.
When handled properly, challenges to love others become glorious opportunities to grow in spiritual maturity and participate in the building of God’s Kingdom.
“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 are Kingdom subjects. Now live like it.
Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
Matt 5:46-47 MSG
Love Others God’s Way
As Christ-filled believers, we possess three secret weapons hidden within our hearts by The Creator for loving others in a fallen, imperfect world full of messy, broken people.
3 Secret Weapons for Loving Others
#1 Unfathomable Love
“Love is the most powerful weapon the world has ever known and the only one that heals instead of wounds.”
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Love is our greatest weapon, friend. And God is our Weapon-Maker.
To live our highest calling as God’s children, His Kingdom subjects is to love all of His creation with His unshakable, infallible, unwavering, and unfathomable love.
God is love [1 John 4:8]. And His love is made perfect in us when we overcome the human struggle to love others.
And when we choose to do the hard thing, instead of the human thing, y’all, we influence our culture for Kingdom purpose.
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: 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 that person.
If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.”
Luke 6:27-30 MSG
Did you catch that? When we pray for our enemies, we are living out our true identity as God’s beloved children.
When we overlook offense, we mirror the image of our Father.
When we love the unlovable—as God does, we serve as holy Light-bearers for His Kingdom; pointing others to the light of His love.
“And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become more like Him.”
2 Cor. 3:18 MSG
Loving others in an unlovable world won’t be easy, friends! But nothing good ever comes easy.
As we accept the challenge to love others as God does—and in all of life’s hardest places, we point others back to the Creator.
#2 Extraordinary Grace
“Grace is the free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind.”
Matthew Henry
Who among us could count the ways God has granted upon each one of us grace upon grace?
All of creation is in dire need of His saving grace. And as undeserving as we may be as citizens of the world, it is out of His fullness—God’s perfect love—that He bestows upon each one of us His amazing Grace; His unmerited favor.
“For from His fullness, we have all received grace, and grace upon grace.”
John 1:6
It was God’s grace that saved a slave trader, John Newton, and the ship’s entire crew on March 9, 1748. John’s life was spared that fateful day as He cried out to God in the raging storm.
Not only did John live to eventually become one of the most influential evangelists of His time, but He penned arguably the most popular hymn of all time, Amazing Grace.
Grace simply means meeting people where they are, friends, and offering them love despite their unlovability.
It was Grace that first loved us when we, too, were unlovable.
Having received grace upon grace, as His beloved children, so must we learn to extend His extraordinary grace to an often adversarial, unlovable world.
So often I teeter on the edge of unkindness towards others.
But when I follow Christ’s example of extending extraordinary grace in the face of difficult people and challenging circumstances, I experience the blessedness of sharing His amazing grace and participating in the building of His Kingdom.
#3 ‘Righteous’ Humility
“Humility has a dank and shameful smell to the world, the scent of failure, lowliness, and obscurity.”
Fernanda Eberstadt
Humility isn’t a characteristic our world tends to value much less elevate. But friends we aren’t called to be of this world; we are called to be otherworldly.
Jesus chose to come into this world humble at birth, and He chose to die on the cross equally in stature.
Jesus set the finest example of humility for all mankind when he washed the feet of His disciples. And He did so, knowing Judas would betray Him.
Talk about a lesson in real, honest-to-goodness love!?
True humility lies in our overwhelming desire to walk in God’s righteous ways; placing His greatest commandment forefront of our lives. Matt. 22:35-40
“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8 NIV
Walking in humility keeps our eyes focused on things above and our ways in step with His ways.
Loving Others God’s Way
Only when we recognize how ‘spiritually bankrupt’ we truly are apart from His saving grace, can we begin to fathom loving others with all the fullness of His love.
-So full of His love, we love our neighbor as ourselves Mark 12:31.
-So full of His love, we love our enemies Matthew 5:43-44.
-So full of His love, we love when it’s hard—really hard!
-But most of all, so full of His love, our hearts weep for a world lost in sin. Because we recognize our own desperate need for saving.
Loving others in a not-so-lovable world is challenging, to say the least.
But through the power of God’s goodness at work in our lives and following Christ’s supreme example, we can meet life’s challenges head-on; wielding our secret weapons of unfathomable love, extraordinary grace, and ‘righteous’ humility. Thus, sharing the wondrous story of His love with a watching, wandering world.
“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, but with intention.
So go love intentionally, extravagantly, and unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”
L.R. Knost
Author
Rachel Rains
A Nashville vocal technique coach turned Christian writer/speaker, Rachel W. Rains, writes about overcoming the human struggle to love in a broken, not-so-lovable world. Connect with Rachel at rachelwrains.com or on Instagram and Facebook @rachelwrains. Rachel is a contributing author to the devotional collection, ButterflyLiving Life Changing Stories.
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Excellent read! When I choose love and pray for those who’ve hurt me or someone I love, it changes the whole perspective. Hurting people hurt people. This is so true, and in praying for them somehow I am blessed and healed. Keep up this great work in your God given calling! So proud of you❤??
Choosing to see others and love them as God does isn’t easy. But as we shift our focus, our perspective, we are transformed to His likeness. We have within us the power to heal a hurting world. Thank you for the kind words and your commitment to loving others—once challenging circumstance at a time. ???