Tough Love

Loving others through anger is undoubtedly one of the hardest things to do. Be it a spouse or a mate, a close family member, a best friend, a not so best friend, a pastor, a co-worker or even an authority figure in our life, as followers of Christ, we are called to love at ALL times. We know what that kind of ‘love’ is. It’s the love of Christ Jesus.  Agape love.  The unconditional, all giving, no questions asked kind of love.  C.S. Lewis described agape love as “a selfless love, a love that was passionately committed to the well-being of the others.”

“Passionately committed to the well-being of others.” In the midst of red-hot anger that is a big pill to swallow!  It’s the last thing we think about to be sure.

The other night at two different times I received a call from different friends who shared some things that truly got my blood boiling.  Lately I’ve been receiving from the Lord about “not following your emotions but let your emotions follow God” (Ps?)- that I had to take a step back from my anger of hearing these bad things, count to 10 and calm down before I said anything I shouldn’t have or did anything that would make the situation worse for my friends.

So this morning I was up early seeking God on these situations and as simply profound as it always seems to be, “Jesus is the way” kept being whispered in my thoughts over and over. Zechariah 8:17 was the first word of the morning God lead me to:

 “Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;
   And do not love a false oath.
   For all these are things that I hate,’
   Says the LORD.”

Along with:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

We know exactly what these verses are telling us however to actually ‘do’ them, at least the second one is a lot harder than we realize when our inner mercury level is about to pop.  In Ephesians and Psalms it says to ‘be angry but do not sin.” And we know that to not sin, we need to prepare our hearts. In preparing our hearts to not sin in the anger that is trying to consume us, we need to know who Jesus is but also to have faith in who He is. He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

 John 10 talks about Jesus being the True Shepherd. Jesus tells us that He is “the door of the sheep.”  We are His sheep and it’s THROUGH Him (the door) that we are able to love others in the thick of our anger. We cannot do it in our strength. That was the truth that I needed to remind me how to love others though my anger.  In turn I was able to forgive in my heart and then take the action that was needed which is to pray and trust the Lord in it. Our hearts can be prepared for this kind of situations that will always come up in our lives, derives from Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you- But to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”  

Walk humbly with God, do justly, love mercy and do what is required….love. Even when it’s tough.