I ask myself this question a lot. When I live on only in the memories of my friends and family, what exactly will those memories be? Was I love that nobody could surpass, or am I a perfect example of how not to treat others? When people look at me, do they see Jesus? Or will avoiding my remembrance avoid the judgment attached to it?
Let me lay it out simply for all of you:
There are two types of love. The general love we as humans have for the rest of humanity, and the love that we intentionally push on others. The former requires minimal effort and yields very little consequence. But the latter- that's what we'll be remembered for. Each and every interaction you have with anyone is defined by one of these, or a lack thereof. Every time you come in contact with another person, you either drain life, stabilize it, or radiate it.
I can't help but marvel at the provocative nature of Jesus' words," Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
For most of us, we interpret that as him calling us to exude the first type of love. When people we dislike get under our skin, we put on a polite ruse in the name of the cross. Instead of retaliating, we ask God for patience and continue our day with a minimized chip on our shoulders. We return smiles at the mall, and when somebody shows us kindness, we are quick to return it or pay it forward. But we are called to so, so much more than that.
When we become a follower of Christ, our entire identity is shifted, and our sole purpose is now to live in a way that compels others to gaze at Him. So then, if we respond to kindness with equal kindness, why should we be thanked? What praise do we deserve? After all, we're just completing the bare minimum of the natural order of things. But when we proactively pursue kindness and push its agenda, people will be grateful. And at that point, we get to throw up our hands and give credit to the only one who deserves it. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
That is spiritual warfare in its truest form. When Jesus challenged the cross, death fell into retreat. His grace holds all ground, but our love is what continues to push back the darkness. Every act of love is an irremediable blow that Satan shall never recover from.
Jesus is Life. And Jesus is love. It wouldn't be crazy, then, to equate the action of love to the consequence of life. And if that's true, that the difference between life and death is Christ's love through us, how much more weight does every action carry?
Something the Holy Spirit has had to show me is the falsehood of the notion that I am fit to make decisions for Jesus. And I think, far too often, all of us fall into this trap for some period of time. We believe it's our job to tell the world what's wrong with them as if they don't already know. We act as though we're the judge, jury, and executioner on God's behalf. We filter certain people, write off countless others, and share the Gospel only after we have our group nicely organized how we want it. But Jesus loves ALL people. Regardless of their class, age, gender, sexual orientation, secret sin, and especially their past. If we profess to hold God's word above all else, then we better start following his example.
God will judge everyone by their works. But if we do so prematurely, we're robbing the world of the freedom of Christ. Essentially, we're telling them to keep marching to Hell.
I don't want that blood on my hands.
As far as the call to be perfect like God, the Apostle Paul lays it out beautifully for us in Hebrews.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."
The more we watch Jesus, the more he is able to transform us to be like him. And the more we look like him, the closer we are to eternal perfection.
In Christ,
E. Mar
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