Test of Love (for People)

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13)

Friends today I end my series of Tests To Be Like Jesus with this test, the test of LOVE. Maybe you have read each post in this series, but you know what, the greatest test of all this is love.

It's simple to love someone who loves us. Simple to love someone who makes us happy. Simple to love someone who gives us what we want. In other words, it's simple to love materialistically.

However, today my point is, are you able to love someone who hates you? Are you able to love someone who makes you upset, angry, hurt or simply, makes you want to hate him/her? Are you able to love unconditionally? Regardless of how the person treats you? Regardless of how hostile the person is towards your love?

Jesus was someone who chose to love unconditionally. He loved the people society loved to hate.
He touched the lepor and healed him.(Matthew8:1-4) Lepors are people with a skin disease, and during that time when anyone contracted leprosy, he would be quarantined until death. Everybody would move away from him. Simply, he was a reject, an outcast. But Jesus chose to go near the lepor and even touched him. He could have healed just with words, but Jesus chose to go further than that. He chose to touch the lepor and accept him, and then healed him. Jesus loved him.

The adulteress woman.(John8:1-11) Everybody wanted to stone her. But Jesus chose to love her. Everybody looked down on her, but Jesus edified her. Everybody condemned her, but Jesus chose to forgive her. Jesus loved her

Zacchaeus.(Luke19:1-10) He was a tax collector. In those days everybody hated tax collectors, because most of them were corrupt and often charged the people more than they were supposed to. Society hated them, but that day Jesus chose to reside in Zacchaeus' house. Society hated Zacchaeus, but Jesus accepted him. Society charged him, but Jesus forgave him. Jesus loved him.

The soldiers.(Luke23:33-34) Who were they to deserve the love of Jesus? Yet Jesus chose to look beyond them and chose to forgave them who crucified him. The soldiers mocked him, abused him, flogged him, stripped him, yet Jesus chose to look at them through the eyes of God and forgave them.

There are many people recorded in the Bible who felt the love of Jesus personally. Friends today can you comprehend the love of Jesus? Are you able to understand the love of Jesus? Are you able to fathom the depeth of his love for you? If you are unable to, it's only because Jesus' love is more than you can ever imagine, and you can be rest assured today that this love wants to reach you.

However, God does not want us to just receive His love and then do nothing about it. God wants you to love His people, the people around you, just as He loves you. (John15:12) The people who hate you, those who hurt you, those who reject you, those who persecute you, those who condemn you, those who take your love for granted, God wants you to love them nonetheless, and even more so. Friends sometimes it's very difficult to love certain people, and you're asking me,'How?' How can you bring yourself to love these people?

Simple. Look at them through the eyes of God. All of the people around you are God's very beloved, and until you recognize that can you begin to start loving the person. When you begin to understand that God has a plan for the person, you'll begin to see beyond who the person is right now, and as you begin to see the person as how God can use him/her, you'll begin to love the person for it. Therefore friends, today I want to encourage you to love the people around you, not because you have to, but because you know that God can work in that person and use him/her for His kingdom. Because you weren't deserving of His love either, yet God poured forth His love into your heart. Therefore love people the way God loved you.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (1Corinthians13:4-8)

Here is a link to a website I found whch may be useful to help you understand more.

http://www.xenos.org/teachings/nt/hebrews/gary/heb13-1.htm