Because I want this exploration of loving and hating like God to be practical, not just theoretical, I am going to take this week’s article in a different direction, and reflect on recent events in my life.
In the last 5 months I have given both of my daughters in marriage. I have known that these days were coming since the girls were little. In anticipation of this time, I have observed many other Fathers-of-the-Bride, both …
Looking at Jesus’ example, we were surprised to see that, after healing a leper, He tells the man to keep it quiet. This seems very odd. Our instincts are to broadcast our good deeds. Yet Jesus is telling this guy to keep His deeds a secret. And not just here. Time and again, Jesus suppresses information that would seem helpful to those around Him.
Consider other examples:
Jesus is asked to go heal a sick, 12 year …
It is easy to come away from the story of the Good Samaritan feeling overwhelmed. I mean, how can I show mercy to everyone that I encounter who is in need? Even acknowledging that such mercy will be inconvenient, persistent, messy, and personal, if I try to emulate all that the Samaritan did with every homeless or needy person that I come across – not just giving them a few dollars, but committing to help …
In our look at Part 1 of the story of The Good Samaritan, we saw that the story was a response to a religious leader who was attempting to justify himself in the eyes of the Law. Although religious, he did not come to Jesus as to The Christ, but as one still under the condemnation of the Law – an unbeliever. Thus, there is nothing in the story that directly addresses our responsibility, as …
In our pursuit of what it means to love what God loves and hate what He hates, we have discovered that loving our enemies is not about being infinitely nice, but about representing God’s character, in this case, His mercy. And we have found that the plan is not make the world like us so much that everyone wants to become a Christian, but to validate our message with a unique unity among believers, borne …
Ok, so loving my enemies, doesn’t mean that I shower my foes with cupcakes and butterfly kisses. Instead, it means that godly righteousness manifests God’s attributes, one of which is mercy. But still, doesn’t the Bible say that “they will know that we are Christians by our love”? I mean, the dominant theme in Christianity today is our “responsibility” to engage the social issues of our culture. It’s how we prove we care and validate …
In our exploration of what it means to “love what God loves, and hate what He hates”, we began with Jesus’ words to “Love your enemies” – words that seem to make “hate” in any form, illegitimate.
These words are in the Sermon on the Mount, and in Part 1, we saw that Jesus’ purpose in it was not to establish a code of conduct, but rather describe the kind of righteousness necessary for entrance into …
As we explore what it means to “love what God loves, and hate what He hates“, it seems best to begin by examining key Biblical teachings that seem to undermine this notion.
We will start with Jesus’ command to “love your enemies,” which is recorded in both Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). These words were not spoken in isolation, and to understand them, we must understand …
Most of us are quite aware that God calls us to love what He loves, but I don’t think I had given much thought to hating the things He hates. Not until recently.
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