One Simple Truth that Will Help Us Live a Missional Life

You probably have heard the saying, “Love is a choice, not a feeling.” I am not sure I have always understood what that meant. And maybe you have heard this, “Greater love no one has than this, to lay down their life for a friend.”

I think I can intellectually wrap my mind around that, but only because I am a Christian who has heard most of my life that Jesus laid down his life for us. But what does that look like in real life? How does a selfish person like I am choose to love, or even more difficult, sacrifice the things of my life for another?

If I am not “feeling that loving feeling” I struggle with showing love to others, even those closest to me. Now before you go and start thinking I am some really bad person, I love my wife and son more than anything. And yes, I do think that I will lay my life down for either one if the situation warranted it. And I do that now in some ways by giving up things that I want to do or love for their benefit. I even have some friends that make it on that list even though admittedly it’s a short list.

Still, even when I sacrifice things out of love for them, and for that relatively small group of friends, in the deepest crevices of my soul, I expect for them to love me back. That doesn’t look like “love as a choice” or “laying my life down” to me.

Here Is the Big Question

Will You Love Only Those Who Love You Back?

This is when loving others gets challenging.

Seeing churches put a focus on “getting outside of the walls” of the church is a good thing. It does take some selflessness to help people who need help, to take vacation time and finances to go on a short-term mission trip, to mentor a child who has a difficult home situation, and to bring a child from a hard place into your own family.

But what happens to our compassion and love if the less-fortunate person shows no appreciation for our help, or worse, abuses it? What if the people who you spend time and money to share the love of Christ with outright rejects you, maybe even with violence? How many families who bring a child into their home get in return from that child anger and anguish?

Will you continue to love them?

I will be honest with you. I can’t do it.

You probably didn’t expect to hear me say that. But the truth is, neither can you. You and I will take offense. We will decide to not help them ever again or worse to not love them anymore.

How can we choose to love sacrificially in the face of rejection? If we are going to embrace God’s call to live a life sent or on mission, we need to know the answer to this question.

Yes, the answer is Jesus.

But it’s more than just saying Jesus is the Answer. He needs to be the Answer. This is important to understand.

Jesus doesn’t expect us to follow His example. He knows we will fail every single time. Instead He invites us to channel His love.

This Is the Simple Truth.

He describes the relationship like a vine that we are grafted in. His sacrificial love flows through us when we remain in Him.

When we recognize this truth and focus on remaining in Him, then we do love even when others don’t love back.

Will You Love Only Those Who Love You Back? The answer is yes if it is Jesus loving them through you in the first place.