Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
1 John – Don’t Let Your Unlike Get in the Way of Your Love
At our Coffeehouse Evangelism Bible study, I was reminded of a description I made of my Mom at her Celebration of Life: “My Mom loved you before she met you; and after she met you, she even liked you which might be harder than loving you.”
Agape love is redefined by the life and death and Jesus to mean seeking the best for others. Like Jesus, we are to seek the best even for our enemies. That makes loving others surprisingly easier than liking everyone. In fact, we are not commanded to like, but to love. Feelings cannot be commanded but actions can be.
1 John is about Christians needing to love one another (1 John 4:7-12). Shockingly, Christians treating Christians by seeking one another’s best interests, is one of the most difficult aspect of imitating Christ. It was 2000 years ago, and still is today. That’s because we let our “like” and “unlike” get in the way of our “love.”
Comments