THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF LOVE
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7 (RSV)
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (NASB)
Somebody shared some advice with me about dealing with difficult people: commit to praying for them daily. Simple, right? In one sense, yes, but the prayer does as much for the one praying as it does for the one being prayed for. Remember the Prophet Jonah? God used him to bring about repentance among the Ninevites. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry (Jonah 4:1 ESV). I can imagine Jonah asking, Don’t you care what these heathens have done? What about you? Perhaps God is bringing someone to mind who has caused you great harm, and you’re thinking, God, don’t you care what this person has done to me? Maybe He’s asking, Do you do well to be angry… (Jonah 4:9 ESV)?
What God is calling us to in private prayer is not the conjuring up of warm, affectionate feelings about people. Get that out of your mind as quickly as you can! No, sometimes the harm inflicted upon us is too difficult to have those feelings about people. If the truth is told, Jesus probably feels the same way, too. In the verses above, the word love comes from the Greek word agape, which means choosing to bless people despite how we feel. Otherwise, our love is just transactional and self-serving. It’s the God-forged offering of a heart surrendered to Christ and His mission. This doesn’t mean we excuse abuse or overlook bad behavior. Instead, we pray God’s abundant blessing upon them, that they may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19 ESV). What gives us the ability to live out this kind of transformative love? Simply put, it’s the same kind of radical love that Jesus has given to us.
APPLICATION: Think of someone you know who has hurt/annoyed you. Commit to praying for them daily.
PRAYER: Lord, I ask that You demonstrate Your favor toward ________________. Reveal the full extent of your blessing toward them through union with Christ.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?