Love includes and gathers in; it is limitless; it is from the heart and seeks to benefit others at expense of self.
Jesus Himself gives us great clarity on the topic of loving one another.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:37–39).
Christ calls the second commandment equally important. To love our neighbor as ourselves is given the same priority as loving God with every bit of our being.
Love accomplishes what the law cannot. And love is a choice.
Christ chose to love us when we were anything but lovable. He knew every last secret, every shred of pride and rebellion, every ugly thought. All of it. He loved us still. And He asks us to do the same to a lost and dying world.
Demonstrating love on a daily basis is not easy. Some people are hard to love. They are difficult, arrogant, opinionated, prideful, selfish and the list goes on. It does not matter to Christ. To love those who are lovable is nothing special—those who walk without Jesus can manage that. He asks us to love those whose behavior is hurtful and damaging:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” (Matt. 5:43–47).
That’s a tall order. Being civil is not sufficient. Love those who seem determined to take you down, to hurt and demean you. Pray for the ones who use you in a spiteful way. Remember that before we trusted in Christ, we were just as unlovely in the eyes of a perfect and spotless Lord Jesus. If we can’t or won’t make this our goal, we are failing to follow the foundations of life in Christ.
Love should define our lives as Christians and should be the backbone of any relationship and interaction we have. We are to model our love for one another after the love God has shown us. Love seeks to benefit others at the expense of itself. The law demands to be satisfied at the expense of others.
You may be thinking at this point, “Check, please! You clearly don’t know my in-law. You don’t know what she’s done!” You are absolutely right, I don’t. But God does—and He sent His Son to die for her.
We can explore the really hard cases, where the level of animosity and anger has created a breakdown in the relationship. For now, though, in principle, we are asked to make a choice. Your relationship approach is a matter of choice.
If you choose to follow the character of Christ and demonstrate love despite the behavior of the other woman, you allow God to work through you and in her. You are responsible for the behavior you demonstrate. Let God handle the results.
Deb DeArmond is an expert in the fields of communication, relationship and conflict resolution. A writer and professional speaker, DeArmond focuses on topics related to the family and women. Related by Chance, Family by Choice (November 2013) is her first book and is focused on relationships between women-in-law. She is co-founder of My Purpose Now, a website devoted to Christian women 50+. Read more from DeArmond at Family Matters and My Purpose Now.
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