"No treatment of the virtues our Lord taught is adequate which does not assign first place to love. Love is the fountain of the pure heart and the forgiving spirit." Christian Personal Ethics
"Christian love is only half biblical when it deteriorates into a concern only for the souls of men and is indifferent to the needs of the body. What believer ministers to himself only in this way? It is scarcely biblical at all when it degenerates into a mere humanistic concern for the social side of life to the total neglect of the life of the spirit." Christian Personal Ethics
"No society that disregards ethical finalities can long postpone ignominious collapse." The Christian Mindset in a Secular Society
Carl F. H. Henry
These quotes remind me that the life I have been called to (my "vocation," if you will) is first and foremost calculated and determined by love. If I've been changed by God's love, then my life must start with the love of God for humanity and then culminate in love for neighbor because a of the grace of God. If there is no love of neighbor in me, then there is likely no love of God either.
If I can honestly turn a deaf ear and a hardened heart to the needs (spiritual and physical) of those around me, then I must wonder if my ears and heart have ceased to hear the voice of God or to experience his piercing love and holiness. You see, I cannot love if I have not been loved. John in his first letter says it like this--"We love because he (God) first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."
A story about Mother Teresa expresses it like this--when asked how she could show compassion and love to the "untouchables" in her ministry, she responded, "I love them because I see Jesus in them. I love Jesus more than anything else."
In a strange twist of "love your neighbor as yourself," Mother Teresa seems to be reminding us that lingering in even the lowest of human lives is some part of the image of God. That person bearing the image is the one who I am called to cherish and love. Yes, even if they hate me, I must love them. Respect for human life does not come from an overdeveloped ego or ethic, it comes from recognizing a basic biblical fact--God loves them, so should we.
God does not place a condition on my love for my neighbor. He does not say, "Love him if he becomes Christian." No, I am to love him even if he refuses Christ.
I am to love my neighbor even if I am ridiculed, even if I am cast out, even if I am persecuted and mistreated. I must bless them if I have the love of God in me.
Such a life may not be easy. It may bring many wounds and scars. Anyone who has loved greatly will tell you how difficult a broken heart can be. To love another is to risk brokenness. “To love at all is to be vulnerable,” says C.S. Lewis in the The Four Loves.
Nonetheless, those who follow Jesus are called to a life of love. Such a life will be founded on the twin convictions of God's love and existence. If we find our bedrock in God's person and love, then we will also discover the foundation of finality to ethics. Ethics are based on God's character. What lines with God is right, what does not is wrong. Love cannot be defined simply by subjective experience or opinion. Love must be defined by the very character and person of God as he reveals himself in Jesus the Messiah. Love is what it is. Jesus' life and ministry among humans show true and holy love.
God loves, so God gives (cf. John 3:16). God loves and gives his best--Jesus. This love is given freely even if God receives nothing back for his gift. Read 1 Corinthians 13.
We love because God loved us.
Are we willing to risk the danger of loving others? Are we willing to love as Jesus loves?
Thanks for reading!
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