Tag: love

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Luke- Week 7- Day 1

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional2 Comments

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,  (28)  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.  (29) And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.  (30)  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.  (31)  And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 6:27-28

Explanation:

It is helpful to understand these verses within the context of which Jesus spoke them and how Luke related them in the flow of thought of the chapter.

In Luke 6:1-5 we find that Jesus had disciples that were following him. Verses 1-5 describes a problem that the pharisees had with the way the disciples of Jesus were acting.  The Pharisees were complaining that they were breaking the parts of the law that they had defined by plucking ears of corn.  The truth is that the scripture literally says it is ok to do this in Deuteronomy.

When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.

Deuteronomy 23:25 

The disciples were not disobeying the scripture.  They were disobeying the law of people that added to scripture.

In verses 6-11 you see the pharisees upset with Jesus for healing on the sabbath.  Jesus rebukes them for their position.  They were upset with him for healing someone on the sabbath!  Of course, it is ok to do good on the sabbath.

So here you have two accounts of these religious leaders caring more about their religion than the scripture. These accounts set forth a contrast between Jesus’s disciples and the religious leaders.

In verses 12-16 we find Jesus spending all night praying, and after praying He comes down and picks specific disciples to be apostles.  The 12 were not the only disciples, but they were a specific group out of all the disciples.

So, Jesus prays.

Then Jesus picks.

Then Jesus preaches.

The sermon here is like one recorded in Matthew commonly called the “sermon on the mount”.  And in this sermon, we see another similar contrast to the hypocritical pharisees and the disciples.  This contrast is between those who are blessed and those that are cursed.  Those who are blessed are ones that are true disciples of Jesus.  They are acting like those who truly follow Jesus. (v.20-23) Those who are cursed (and thus pronounced with woe) are acting the way these religious leaders were acting.  They were harsh, condemning, judgmental, and holding people to rules that they themselves had made up.  They were not loving or kind.  They were imposing rules as a way of growing in authority, power, and riches.  They are acting as those who are not following Jesus. (vs. 24-26)

Now Jesus made a statement in the Gospels that may shed light onto today’s text in verses 27-36 from a discipleship lens.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  (35)  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.   

John 13:34-35

Jesus said that the defining mark of his disciples would be their love.  He said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord our God with all that we are, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  So, when we get to verse 27, we see this same kind of command:

But I say unto you which hear, Love…

Luke 6:27a

This first command to love is followed by several commands that are parallel to each other.  There is an imperative (command) verb, and then there is the direct object.  The command to “Love your enemies” is a good overall description of what the whole passage is about, because that pattern is repeated.

This week we are going to look at three important questions that Jesus answers that help us know what true love looks like.

1.   How do we love?

Jesus commanded them act a certain way- a way called love.  Look at what love is paralleled with in the rest of the commands:

How do you love?

  • Do good
  • Bless
  • Pray for
  • Do not retaliate in kind
  • Give

Biblical love is primarily not a feeling.  Love is a verb.  Love is an action.  This is why the word “love” here is given as a command. 

Think about it this way:

  • Go love. 
  • Go bless. 
  • Go do good. 
  • Go pray. 
  • Go give. 
  • Do not retaliate. 

This is what it means to love.

And if your confused about what to do in any situation, Jesus sums it up this way

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 6:31 

Do to others the way you want them to do to you.

Application:

It is not enough to feel love.  Love is an action that must be expressed.  We love by blessing, doing good, giving, praying for, and treating others the way we want to be treated.  This is what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Response:

Pick one of those other verbs as an expression of love and do that for someone around you today!

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Public Proclamation- Song of Solomon- Week 13- Day 3

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

Song of Solomon 5:8-9

Explanation:
Here the wife is talking to the “daughters of Jerusalem”, a group that she has spoken to before (3:1-5). She asks them to convey the message to her husband that she is sick because of the amount of love that she has for him. She loves him, but he is gone. She longs for her husband, and wants others to know about her desire for him. She is not worried that other women know how much she loves and longs for her husband.

In the other instances in Song of Solomon when the daughters of Jerusalem are spoken to, they seem to help or to buy into things. Here they question her back. What is the question? In essense they ask, “What makes your beloved so special, that you ask us to help you?” They seem to possibly have a different perspective about her husband than she does. Again, this is a good thing.

The wife then sees this then as an opportunity to describe her husband in a way that she would not be able to describe any other man. Again, there is an exclusive, intimate relationship not like any other relationship in her life.

Application:
The public position that a spouse should take about their mate is one of love and respect. Here the wife is making it clear to others that she thinks highly of her husband.
It is important that we not put our wives or husbands down privately or publicly. Publicly mocking or teasing our spouse can be problematic for the intimacy of the relationship. Publicly admiring and praising our spouse can be healthy and prevent problems down the road.

Response:
• What would others give as evidence of your love and admiration for your spouse?

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Romans- Week 12- Day 3- Romans 13:8-10

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.  (9)  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  (10)  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Romans 13:8-10 

Explanation:

There are some who come to the conclusion that “owe no man any thing” is a prohibition against taking on any kind of debt.  There are good reasons to take a conservative position on debt.  Yet the Bible does not condemn investing in other passages of scripture.  The Bible does speak against taking advantage of the poor by charging outrageous interest rates.  In the context here it is my view that Paul is saying that we should pay our main debt to others that never goes away- that is the debt of love to others.  The focus is not on financial practice, but on the real obligation that we have to others to show them the love of Christ.

The love we show is the summation of the law as Christ said.  All of the ten commandments are repeated in the new testament except the sabbath day command. 

Application:

To love God rightly we must love our neighbor as ourself.  If we get the love of God right we will get the love of others right.  As we get love for others right we will keep the commands given in the law because “love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fullfilling of the law.”

Response:

  • Who do you need to love better today?  
  • How can you show that love to them?
  • In what ways are you being unloving to others?
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Romans- Week 11- Day 5- Romans 12:16-18

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. (17)  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.  (18)  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Romans 12:16-18 

Explanation:

The mistake that we can make in interpreting this passage of scripture is to interpret each sentence as separate statements that are unconnected items.  It comes across as a list.  But these sentences flow out of the context of the passage.  These statements are the commands of the Holy Spirit of how we are to live as He transforms are thinking and behavior. 

  • “Be of the same mind one toward another”–  There is a unity of mindset as believers put God and each other ahead of themselves.  It doesn’t mean uniformity in every preference or circumstance.  It does mean a unity in the Lord and submission to each other.
  • “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.”- The word “high” here means “esteemed”. The idea is not to look at the things that are esteemed in this world and judge men exclusively by those things.  The person with the sharp clothes and the big business is not more valuable or more loved by God than the person with lower means.  The person who has more is not automatically a bad or greedy person because they have more.  Those human distinctions should not govern the way that we view each others value.
  • “Be not wise in your own conceits”- Don’t let the way you view things be your only perspective.  Try to see things from God’s point of view.
  • “Recompense to no man evil for evil.” – The heart of the Christ follower is not to extract revenge on anyone that does us wrong.  The right response is the response of forgiveness.  Forgiven people forgive.
  • “Provide things honest in the sight of all men.”- The idea here is to give regard for that which is good and honest in a public way.  We honor good things wherever they are found, especially knowing that both our brothers and sisters in Christ and the lost world see how we respond.
  • “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”-  Though this local body of believers were likely to be persecuted, maligned, and socially marginalized for their commitment to Christ, the admonition is to try to be at peace even with those who hate them.  If there was a way to get along they, and we, are supposed to find that way.

Application:

These items are at the next level of authentic love for those around us.  Why?  Because they speak not just of loving those with which we have values and priorities in common.  They also speak to loving those around us who do not share our values and who set themselves against us.  The only way that this kind of love happens in and through us consistently and genuinely is by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

Response:

Like yesterdays question, which of these responses do you need to implement today?