Loving Others Like God Loves Us
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Luke 6:35–36
When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it divided the capital city of Germany in a way that reflected the division that had been forced on the conquered nation following World War II. West Germany remained part of the free world while East Germany was under the domination of the Soviet Union. Once the wall was in place, people could no longer escape the communist government simply by reaching Berlin. There was a great division that remained until the wall was brought down in 1989.
It is said that at one point during a particularly tense moment in East-West relations, in the 1970s, that a group from East Berlin decided to begin throwing bags of garbage over the wall in a symbolic protest against the West. After seeing the bags of garbage, some residents of the western part of the city decided on an appropriate response. They filled bags with food and medical supplies that were in short supply in the communist part of the city and flung them over the wall with a note that read, “Each gives what he has.”
If we only extend love to a select few, we are not obeying the command of God, and we are not showing His love to a world that so desperately needs to see it. If we are to live as children of the King, then we must love as He loves. James wrote, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:” (James 2:8).
Luke 6:35–36
When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it divided the capital city of Germany in a way that reflected the division that had been forced on the conquered nation following World War II. West Germany remained part of the free world while East Germany was under the domination of the Soviet Union. Once the wall was in place, people could no longer escape the communist government simply by reaching Berlin. There was a great division that remained until the wall was brought down in 1989.
It is said that at one point during a particularly tense moment in East-West relations, in the 1970s, that a group from East Berlin decided to begin throwing bags of garbage over the wall in a symbolic protest against the West. After seeing the bags of garbage, some residents of the western part of the city decided on an appropriate response. They filled bags with food and medical supplies that were in short supply in the communist part of the city and flung them over the wall with a note that read, “Each gives what he has.”
If we only extend love to a select few, we are not obeying the command of God, and we are not showing His love to a world that so desperately needs to see it. If we are to live as children of the King, then we must love as He loves. James wrote, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:” (James 2:8).
Today’s Growth Principle:
When we love those who do not love us and treat them with grace, we are reflecting the love of our Heavenly Father.
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