The Power of Love: God’s Love
God’s love transcends human love. Yesterday we learned the first attribute of God’s love – God’s love is humble. Here is the second attribute of this supernatural love:
God’s love is Others-Centered
If you have interacted with the general public at all it would be extremely easy to have a low estimation of humanity. BUT how does God view people – all people? The Bible tells us that “God so LOVED the WORLD…,” (John 3:16a). Not just the lovely, righteous, fair, or good.
This is why, at its core, Christianity is not just counterculture. It is counter-human nature!
We are selfish by fallen human nature. It comes natural to us.
There was a restaurant whose owner put a sign on the door that stated:
“For the comfort of others, please close the door.” Few people closed it.
He then changed the sign to read:
“For your own comfort, please close the door.” Everyone closed it.
There are a million different ways to practice being others centered, but the fact is that you cannot treat others the way God wants you to if you do not see yourself, and others, the way He does.
So how can we do this? We must begin by comparing ourselves to God, not to one another. This will put us all in equal standing. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Once you give your life to Him, He calls you to do two things with the power of His divine love:
- Honor others above yourself
“Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves.” Romans 12:10 NCV
I want honor. So do you. If you don’t think that’s true, just think about how you respond when you are being dishonored.
We were created with honor. That is why being dishonored is so deeply insulting and assaulting. Love honors others – even above yourself!
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:3, 4 NLT
Now, you might be thinking, “If I honor others more than myself, I will get left behind, or I could be taken advantage of.” Maybe. But you would be acting like Christ, who, before He suffered and died, knelt down, took the lowest household position, and washed His disciples’ feet.
Being “others-centered” begins with making it your soul purpose in life to be the biggest blessing possible to everyone around you.
Rather than living by “What’s in it for me?” live by, “What’s in it for you?” “How can I be a blessing to you?”
Studies have shown that outward focused people are the healthiest and happiest people on earth. Of course, this shouldn’t be your motivation, because then it’s about you again, but this shows that being a blessing is the way God has designed us to live – just like Him
But Jesus takes it to a whole other level when He tells us to:
- Love your enemies
Now we know we have clearly departed from human love, right?
Matthew 5:43-48 NCV “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
God truly wants His people to be a supernatural people living on earth, and that begins and ends with His supernatural love being known and shown to others. This leads us into tomorrow’s post – the final attribute of God’s love.
John
Your Turn:
- How do you view yourself? Do you see yourself as better, equal to, or less than others? How do you think God wants you to see yourself? How do you think He wants you to see others?
- What does it mean to you to be “Others-Centered”? What could that look like, in practical terms, in your life?
- Why do you think Jesus calls you to love your enemies – those who have hurt you? Do you think this is possible? Why or why not? How do you think your life would be different if you followed this command?