Well, tonight I learnt something. Well, its a little more than just something.
At church this afternoon, the minister had a sermon on the 6th commandment: 'You shall not kill'. He based his sermon, not only on that we should not kill, or hate our neighbour, but that we are required to love them. In this he reworded the 6th commandment: 'Beloved, let us love one another, for God is love.' (1 John 4:7)
God is love. It is an integral part of His being; He is the perfect epitome of love.
The minister defined love as: the desire to foster a relationship with someone in which you seek the other's good even at a cost to yourself. God is love in that He has fostered a relationship with us His adopted children, us who fell into sin by our own wilful disobedience. By His self-sacrificial love, we may be seen as without sin before God. He sacrificed His Son for me, for you. That is love.
We, on the other hand, are inclined by nature to hate God and our neighbour. Hate is the opposite of love: man desires to severe relationships, seeking only his own good and reputation.
What really struck me about this in the sermon was that we are sinning against this commandment when we decide to not befriend someone, or when we decide that we want nothing to do with someone because of something they have done to us. Although we haven't explicitly said 'I hate you, and I delight in any harm that comes to you', we are still sinning by severing the relationship we once had. For that is hate.
This personally sank deep. For reasons I'll not share, I severed a relationship with someone who had once been my best friend. I did it, she didn't. I was the one who had said, 'I can't do this anymore, I don't want to be friends', and I walked away. And up till now I had not thought that what I had just done was really wrong. I had been hurt and I was driven by hate. I thought I was justified in doing what I did, but now I realise that in God's eyes my actions were far from just. I was driven by hate, even though I would never have said to anyone that I hated her, or that I wished the worse for her.
Now I have the duty to love her again (but I don't want to call this a duty, for I seek to do it willingly). I must love, I must give myself in love to others, extend my hand and friendship to people who need it and I must not expect anything in return. In loving I must NOT seek my own interests, but rather, the interests of others. That is what God has done for me, and thats why I can come so freely and ask for forgiveness; because of His love.
His love must now shine through me.
I pray that it will.
In comparison to the many many times we've failed, Christ's love is sooo amazing! And each step of our lives only proves that more. But definitely agree that the strength to imitate our Saviour only comes through prayer and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Its so relevant to our own lives, our own pasts, and most importantly our future - really makes you think, hey! Thx for sharing!
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