“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV)
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10 NLT)
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV)
“Love first, love best, and love last.” I don’t know if I heard this phrase, or if the Lord gave it to me directly. What I do know is that it describes how Jesus loves me. Because of this, it is how I want to love those that my life touches.
Jesus loved me first. Before I even thought about loving Him, He loved me. He loved each one of us while we were separated from Him in sin and selfishness. It is hard for me to fathom that Jesus would be willing to strip Himself of all of the glories of Heaven; lay aside His position and power as the Son of God; and enter this Earth as a man destined to die a horrible death on a cross. Even more mind boggling is that He did this for those of us who had no desire for Him to do any of it. We reject Him, we curse Him, we deny His very existence, yet He loves us unconditionally. He loved me first. Amazing!
Jesus loves me best. This is where the unconditional nature of His love for me is beyond my comprehension. I have walked away from Him, but He never leaves me or forsakes me. I have let Him down more times than I can count, and yet He sticks closer than a brother. When I have been the wandering “one” He has left the “ninety-nine” to come after me and lovingly brought me back to the fold. Wow!
Jesus will love me last. When I leave this life I will be welcomed into my eternal dwelling by the open arms of Jesus. He loves me with an everlasting, eternal love. There are no limits to His love for me. Unbelievable!
Because Jesus loved me first, loves me best, and loves me last; I am able to love those around me. This love is especially powerful when I share it with those who do not love me. If I am going to love others as I am loved, then I will love regardless of current life differences. Jesus spent most of His time on Earth loving those that the religious crowd rejected. He was called a drunk and glutton because of His unconditional love for those whose lifestyle was outside of religious acceptability. The amazing thing is that even though He did not personally participate in their “sin,” and He even confronted their sin and challenged them to “go and sin no more,” the “sinners’ ‘ loved Him. When you truly love first, best, and last, there is no need to compromise, condone, or condemn. The more you demonstrate unconditional love to others, the less they will feel the need to push you away (even when you disagree), and the more of a positive impact you will have on those you love.
Lord help me to live and love as Jesus did. Then I will understand…
…Eric’s Life Lesson #27: “Hate the sin, love the sinner. (how about I start with learning how to love)”