What is Christ-like Love? How does Christ love?
We often think that God loves us because we are righteous
and good. That’s not true. He appreciates it when we are good because goodness
makes us feel happy and great blessing just naturally come to us because
goodness is its own reward. Oh, to be sure bad things happen to good people,
but it’s all right because even if our hardships are unto death we go to heaven
and have no more sorrow or pain. It’s all good.
But we all stumble. We all fail somewhere during our
lifetime. But we either pick ourselves up, and repent, or we wallow in our failure.
The results of our choices do make a difference in how we feel and the effect
on our lives, but not on Christ’s love for us. He atoned for each of us. He is
our advocate with the father. All we have to do is to accept his love and
repent and all is good. The past is forgotten.
In the world we call it un- conditional love. It is easy to
love someone who is nice to you and accepts you. But to love someone who is mean
to you, or to themselves; someone who keeps making mistakes because they lack
confidence, or are even a danger to themselves and others is called
unconditional love or Christ like love. It does not mean that you don’t
protect yourself, or that you allow yourself or your children to be bullied or hurt
by others. You must be standing on a firm foundation in order to lift someone
else, or both of you will fall. You can only change yourself, and repent for
your own sins, though you can and should forgive them. Forgiving others is for
you more than for them. It lets you heal.
They do not even need to know that you forgave them. I fact
if you really want to get even with someone who deliberately hurt you, tell
them that you forgive them. They will be so mad that their evil devices did not
wound you that they will be filled with all that bad stuff – hate, anger, guilt
and etc. The scriptures say you are heaping coals of fire upon their heads. If
you don’t let go of the pain and hurt then you also will be filled with all
that bad stuff. If you deliberately tell them you forgive them to hurt them
that kinda backfires on you as well so be careful.
Unconditional love means
that you accept them as they are, hurt, wounded, broken or disabled. That is
who they are right now. And you recognize that, but you care about them, and
pray for them and for you to understand. You change yourself and still love
them. If they choose to follow your example, good, if not you still care about
them. When Christ took upon him our sins he did not know which of us would
repent and accept his gift but he did it anyway. That is unconditional love.
“Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
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