Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…How does that title make you feel? Be honest! What is your visceral response to those words right now? The Beatles liked it. They made it sound easy with their hit in the 1967 (There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game…It’s easy) Ponder those words for a minute; What message do you hear?
“Love”, just that one little four-letter word, can take you to the top of a mountain, or it can take you to the pits of hell. Yet, that same four-letter word has so many meanings in our culture today, it often can be thought of as virtually useless. For instance, we love our cat, we love chocolate, we love the beach, and let’s face it, we sometimes love our favorite sports team…if they’re winning? Truth be told, in our language, that one little word expresses a myriad of emotions…from the ridiculous to the sublime.
In the Greek language, the original language of the New Testament, there were four different words to describe four different “levels” of love. Eros meant physical love, or a carnal attraction; Philo love is brotherly love, the kind of love that is shared between close friends. Storge love is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers. But the love referred to in the Bible is the highest form of love; it is Agape love, meaning it is “self-sacrificial love, the kind of love that Jesus shared with everyone He encountered. I would venture to say that the concept of Agape love is particularly rare in our culture today, because not only is it self-sacrificial, but it is also unconditional. Can you imagine that?
Jesus told His disciples, “They will know you are my disciples because of your love for one another.” (John 13:35) He also commanded that “we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” (Mark 12:31) It’s easy to read those two Scriptures and get a warm fuzzy feeling, but truth be told, that is probably the ultimate challenge for everyone. “How”, you ask, “am I supposed to love my neighbor, or those we see on the streets creating havoc, rioting and looting, when I don’t even like them?” This is when we stop and thank God for His wonderful gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit was given to us so we could rise above our circumstances (or feelings) and bring honor and glory to Him. Ephesians 2:10 reinforces that statement: “For we are (now) God’s Masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can (now) do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (my edits. “Now” – that we are in Christ – is the operative word.)
When Jesus started His ministry, He sat down on a hillside and talked to the multitude, explaining the difference between Kingdom principles and worldly principles. (the famous Sermon on the Mount.) This was one of the reasons He came. He came to show Man how far he had drifted away from God’s principles: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5: 3-10 for all eight of the Beatitudes) But it was also in this same presentation that He outlined two of Man’s greatest challenges: to forgive those who have wronged us, and to love our enemies. But here is the good news: He gave us this spiritual prescription: “Pray for those who persecute you. In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45) And just like the Beatles’ song title, this prescription sounds easy too, Right? If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll have to admit, it is the ultimate challenge for our “human nature.” In fact, it’s entirely possible that you are saying to yourselves, “Wow! I’ve tried that before, but I just can’t forgive that person”, or “I don’t even like that person! How can I possibly love them?”
Because God, our omniscient, omnipotent heavenly Father, knew us intimately, He knew – even before He created us – that we were going to be problem children. But even that didn’t thwart His plan. No indeed! He created us anyway! Ephesians 1:4-5 addresses this very situation. “Long ago, even before He created the world (and Man), God loved us and chose us in Christ to he holy and without fault in His eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and this gave Him great pleasure! Undoubtedly, God already had a plan for our salvation even before He created us! What an incredible example of His unconditional, unending, unfailing love for us. Not only did He create us for a here-and-now relationship, but even more important was the eternal relationship.
We are told in 1John 4:19 that “we love because He first loved us.” Upon first reading, those words sound very cushy and wonderful, but if we meditate on the deeper meaning, we realize that it is our call to love the same way God loved/loves us. Yes, that’s right…with the same unconditional, unending, and unfailing love. The grace that He displayed toward us is what He expects from us toward others.
This is exactly why we have been gifted with the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is a gift to us so we can rise above our circumstances to become the person He created us to be. But what we, as Christians, have to understand is how the Holy Spirit functions. He does not change our circumstances or our feelings. He empowers us to face our challenges with Spiritual perspective and guidance. (Ref. Ephesians 2:10 in paragraph 4.) Here is how that works.
We call the Holy Spirit into action, because our motivation is to bring honor and glory to God. We ask Him, out loud, to give us His wisdom, His insight, His courage, strength, patience, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear, words to speak – whatever it is we need – to help us deal with this issue in a way that brings honor to Him. From our perspective, we are consciously pursuing a more Christ-like action. A substantiating Scripture for this new behavior can be found in James 4:10: “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He will lift us up and give us honor.” Every time we begin a request by saying, “Holy Spirit”, we are opening a supernatural door that can empower us to be victorious over satan and his minions.
That is exactly why this gift was given to us. So many challenges and feelings that we encounter can absolutely baffle or overpower “our best effort”. However, when we get “self” out of the way and allow the Spirit to work through us, we are supernaturally charged. This is how we forgive the person who has harmed us, and how we love the person that was here-to-fore down-right unlikable. Is it easy? Absolutely not! But through the Holy Spirit, it is indeed possible. As we are told in 1John 3:18, “You must do more than profess your love for one another; you have to show it through your actions.”
Once you have experienced forgiving those who have harmed you, and loving your enemies, there is a surprise package waiting at the end of the journey. You, my dear Friend, are the one who is set free! Living by the Spirit, or in the Spirit, is our highest calling. God will reward your commitment.
Feel free to respond to this message, and please share it with other social media friends.
May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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