Feasting at The Table - I Love God But I Don't Like This Person!

The topic today begs several questions: 

Do we have to love everybody? What does it really mean to love everyone? How can we do this? Is it possible? Are there different levels of love that can be applied for different categories of people in our lives? Can we get away with just liking some people? Can we say we love everyone but we don’t take advantage of the chances we get to lend a helping hand to someone in need? Which comes first - Building personal relationships or building our relationship with God?

I strongly believe that our relationship with God is most important, because no-one has a heaven to put us in.  

Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV says “This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

Matthew 22:37-38  “Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

John 15:5 ““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

However, there are also these scriptures: 

1 John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

1 John 4:20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” 

John 13:34-35 ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” 

James 2:8 “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”

And Galatians 5:14 “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.””

So during last week's Feasting at The Table, I think I said we have to improve our relationship with God first so we can learn how to love one another. I may have been wrong in saying that. 

I am understanding that there is a school of thought that says we have to improve our relationship with one another first before our relationship with God can be improved.  

So there cannot be 'I love God but I don’t like  this person'.

The Bible clearly states, if we cannot love our brothers and sisters who we can see, how can we say we love God whom we cannot see. 1 John 4:20. We just read that.

So our relationship with God only gets better when we take the Word of God and apply it to our lives so He can get the glory.

But it can also be a challenge for us as believers. Do we understand love for God and love for others to be first and second or are they inseparable?

John underscores the hypocrisy of claiming to love God while harbouring hatred or indifference toward others, especially fellow believers. 

Love is the defining mark of true faith. We referred to the scripture above as well: John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”.

James 2:14-17 tells us faith without works is dead, and love without action is meaningless. 

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul declares that even the most spiritual acts are worthless without love. Loving others proves the authenticity of our devotion to God.

And in Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus teaches that reconciliation with others takes precedence over religious offerings. 

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

So this demonstrates that relationships with others affect our relationship with God.

If we struggle to love those we see daily, perhaps because of their flaws or even our own, it may be a reminder that we need to rely on God’s grace and the transformative power of His love to shape our hearts. 

That’s the only way we can love others as God loves us - unconditionally. 

What makes it easier for us to love? Think of love as a decision, not an emotion. I heard a preacher say this, and I was like, that is so good! He said it's not a question of whether you feel like loving someone, rather it's a question of whether you decide to do it. We must always act in a way that is loving to others. That is it right there. That is how we can love everybody. Hallelujah.

 Family, God calls on us to forgive. God calls on us to bear with one another (Colossians 3:13), and to prioritize love above all (1 Peter 4:8). 

The Holy Spirit enables us to love unconditionally, just as God loves us (Romans 5:5).

As Christians, we are invited to examine our hearts today and ask some tough questions: Are there relationships we need to mend? Are we extending the same grace and kindness to others that we desire from God? 

Let us remember that true worship begins with love in action. 

aub - 27Nov24

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