Wednesday, August 24, 2016

How You Love Those Who Have Hurt You


The Lord tells us to “increase and abound in love one toward another” (1 Thessalonians 3:12). This includes deeply loving difficult husbands! Can you deeply love your disobedient, mean, and ornery husband? This includes that relative that completely rubs you the wrong way and may even be cruel to you. Do you treat them with patience and kindness, a large part of what love means?

We are also commanded to not worry? It’s so easy to worry about the state of our country and who will be the next President. It’s incessantly on the news, thus feeding our fears. Hollywood is getting more perverse. Pornography is easily available to all. It is definitely growing darker and more evil on planet earth, so do we worry?

If you are a child of the King, you can easily love those who are mean and even evil. This isn’t our home so we can trust in the One who died for us. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon has to say about all of this.

“Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things do not remain as they would have been, had He never passed that way. He has conquered every foe that obstructed the way. Cheer up O faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ traveled the road but He has slain your enemies!

Do you dread sin? He has nailed it to His cross!

Do you fear death? He has been the death of death!

Whatever foes may be before the Christian - they are all overcome! There are lions but their teeth are broken! There are serpents but their fangs are extracted! There are flames but we wear that matchless garment which renders us invulnerable to fire!

The sword that has been forged against us is already blunted; the instruments of war which the enemy is preparing have already lost their point.

The Breaker, Christ, has taken away all the power that anything can have to hurt us. Well then, the army may safely march on, and you may go joyously along your journey, for all you enemies are conquered beforehand! Your victory shall be easy, and your treasure shall be beyond all count!”

Because of all this, we can easily increase and abound in love towards one another, even that husband of yours who has caused so much pain in your life, that mean relative, and all those who may even hate you! Because Christ has conquered, we can rest in Him about our future, about who will be President, and how bad our culture becomes. We can walk with our heads held high, a smile on our face, joy in our hearts, and kindness in our speech and actions. Yes, you can do all of these women, because your Savior died for you!

On Christ the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand!