Too often, we filter what we call love through the lens of our own personal experiences and what the world says love is.
Real love is what the Bible says love is.
We all know 1 Cor 13 and can probably quote it, but we often forget all the other things the Word of God says about love.
For example, the Bible says that God is love and that He disciplines those he loves ( Hebrews 12:6, Proverbs 3:12). This would mean Jesus was showing love to Peter when He called him Satan (Matthew 16:23).
If most of us saw someone do that today, we would say they were being too harsh and over the top, that we were not loving. In fact, that is precisely what I thought the first time I read it. I thought, “Lord, how could you not see that Peter only tried to express that he didn’t want the one he loved to be killed. Shouldn’t we be more understanding of how people feel and not blast them for such relatable things?”
The real eye-opener for me came at the end of the verse in Matthew 16:23, “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’” The issue was that Peter focused on what man wanted and not on what God wanted.
How often do we look at our problems and even people from this world’s perspective rather than God’s?
The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31), but as Christians, don’t we tend to love our neighbors better than ourselves?
We try to be the best versions of ourselves for our neighbors and bend backward to help them, but we do not hold the same standards for ourselves. Even though the Bible says the way we love ourselves and the way God loves us is the measuring stick.
If you know who you are in Christ and how to love yourself, you will truly know how to love your neighbor.
Now, I am not writing this so you can go out and try to blast or correct everyone, but rather remind you to stop and think about why you are doing what you are doing.
Am I doing this by God’s standards or by man’s? What does the Bible say about this situation? Do I care more about what the world says, or is God’s view my top priority?
Go love like Jesus.