Do We Really Love Like Jesus?
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34).
Why is it so hard to overcome offenses (Proverbs 18:19)? What is it within us that wants to hold people tightly to the deeds that they’ve done that left us in pain? What would life be like if Jesus had the same posture toward us?
These questions make me wonder how many of us can say that we truly love like Jesus. To properly examine ourselves, we must first understand what the love of Jesus is.
What Is His Love?
Jesus died on the cross in the most gruesome way (Isaiah 53:5), taking on sin that He never committed so that we could be forgiven (John 3:16). That is the greatest expression of love we could ever know. It wasn’t a pretty picture, but it was the only answer to our sin condition—a condition leading us all to an unfortunate end (Romans 5:12; 6:23).
It Is a Righteous Requirement
No matter what we have encountered at the hands of man, God’s instruction to love each other will never change. It does not mean that we must go out of our way to restore every broken relationship. However, we do have to find it within our hearts to release people of their debt (Matthew 6:14-15). We could never earn or deserve what Jesus did for us (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). So, who are we to hold a grudge against anyone?
Matthew 18:23-35 provides a great lesson on this:
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Ask For Help
We must be careful not to fall into the same trap as the unforgiving debtor. If you are struggling to forgive someone, don’t condemn yourself. Forgiveness is a process that God can help you through.
When I look at the way Jesus handled the worst of offenses (Isaiah 53:7), I am reminded that we have no excuse but to forgive and let things go. The more we trust in the sovereignty of God and His Word, the easier it should become.
Pray with me:
Dear Lord, help me in my pursuit of being more like You. You didn’t say it would be easy, but you did say it was necessary. Help me to count the cost of holding a grudge and release the burden of unforgiveness today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
