The Act Of Love
Consider the gospel story if it had portrayed Jesus as coming to this earth solely to profess his love without taking any action to save us. This paradox lies at the heart of the Christian faith.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God’s love was demonstrated by an act—an act that will forever speak of His love for us. But why did Jesus die?
His death is not just a demonstration of God’s love; it is a transformative act. It refuses to leave us in our former unrenewed state of existence and the confusion of the kingdom of darkness, and He translated us into His kingdom of light and life.
Love will not leave someone in a bad state if it can rescue them from it. At the same time, love respects individual freedom. It does not force a person to accept a rescue offer, such as the offer of abundant life in Christ. Love makes a grand and glorious offer in the gospel of Jesus, but it does not force anyone to accept it.
However, love also does not act or speak in a way that communicates deadly and dangerous living as harmless and safe. Love guides us to discern what is truly safe and beneficial and empowers us to live in a way that does not cause others to stumble.
Romans 14:5-18
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then, each of us shall give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him who considers anything to be unclean to him, it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
If we are not supposed to let our good be spoken of as evil, what would that say regarding the things that are already declared evil to start with? Love does not condone evil; it rather exposes it for the deceptive, deadly force that it is. Love has no desire to leave someone in the mire of sin and destruction; it refuses to give the kind of examples that would communicate that sin is of no danger or consequence. Love chooses to live at a higher place not only for its own sake but for the sake of others. We can talk about love and seek to define it in new ways, but in the end, authentic love will still be and act as its source has determined. God is love. Love is to be defined by Him, not us. He has shown us what it is in His word and has demonstrated His love through Jesus at the cross when He paid for sin and conquered sin and death on our behalf. Jesus never sinned, He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. His love acted in certain ways for the sake of others. He put no stumbling blocks in the path of those He claimed to love.
