God loves God’s creation extravagantly, in spite of our sin. Psalm 103 reminds us of all his benefits, not the least of which are his kindness and compassion, mercy and graciousness. But are human beings capable of loving so extravagantly? In the First Book of Samuel, King Saul seeks to harm his son-in-law David, picking three thousand men to search for him in the desert. But when night falls, and Saul and his men fall asleep, David has the opportunity to get rid of Saul, yet he refuses to do so. He will later tell Saul, Today, though the Lord delivered you into my grasp, I would not harm the Lord’s anointed. By showing mercy to his adversary, David demonstrates that he can love extravagantly, striving to love as God loves.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus will make his request clear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. It’s not enough to refrain from harm; Jesus calls upon us to love actively, renouncing enmity, and demonstrating that we too are capable of loving extravagantly if we strive to love as God loves. If such love requires transformation, so be it, for only by loving our enemies—tangibly revealing God’s love by acts of mercy—can we be children of the Most High. We must, as Paul tells the Corinthians, bear the image of the heavenly one, Jesus, who extravagantly showed his love for us all when he died on the cross, loving those who mistreated him and put him to death. That we love extravagantly is a big ask, but one the Lord clearly believes we are capable of, so long as we possess the Spirit of the risen Christ.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
No comments:
Post a Comment