The Paradox of Christ’s Example of Love

God is love. And since Jesus Christ is God, He was and is the example of love.

The word “love” is handed around in the world like cheap cigarettes. And even the modern-religious lingo of the day, “love like Jesus did” is spoken of constantly.

We have heard, “God so loved the world that He sent His only Son” (John 3:16) and the Lord Jesus spoke, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He also mentions in the same Chapter, “If you love Me then you will keep My commandments.”

The concept of Christ’s love, is that 1) it’s an unemotional choice 2) it’s manifested in a form of willful giving 3) the first priority is to love God the Father and keep obedience to the Son Jesus Christ 4) it’s a love without distinction 5) it’s supernatural 6) it does not demand love in return and 7) is respectful of others’ freewill and perspectives. When Jesus walked, He did not necessarily love man. He loved His Father, which inevitably resulted in Him loving and forgiving man. Jesus Christ’s love was ultimately for God and doing His will.

This is the very paradox we face, since although He loved His Father in heaven, and God revealed to the world His love by sending His Son—Jesus Christ as the revelation of the love of the Father. Yet, even though this revelation of God’s love was manifested in Christ before the eyes of men; He was despised, rejected, hated, betrayed, and killed. All the Apostles likewise, following their Master’s footprints, imitating Christ’s love, were beaten or killed and or put into exile. These examples reveal, it’s possible to love your neighbor and be hated without explanation in return.

What we have to remember is that loving God means loving people according to His will and the example that Christ left. Human nature, or the natural condition of the flesh is able to love also. However, this love is subjected to the flesh and the law of sin and death. Discerning this love is easy, it’s emotional, selfish, and unable to please God. While at the same time this love can have a good side of natural feeling, or natural compassion human’s have, a sort of empathetic conscience—at times, we can be moved to love people according to this love or our flesh, making ourselves the center of love, rather than a love centered on Christ. True Christian love has Christ in the center of the relationship, you loving God and the other person loving God. When our love interferes the other person from loving God, and makes them more moved to love us; the love thus becomes fleshly and is “man-centered” love.

This is the form of love that religion offers. The love is natural, draws people to themselves and has distinction. What love with distinction is, can be expressed in this way, “I am going to love you because of.” It’s an attitude that a person must have a certain distinction in order to be loved. Whereas Christ’s love does not have distinction, in other words, “I am going to love you despite.” It leaves out the required distinction that religion requires to obligate themselves to love.

True love, means your love for your neighbor is flowing from your love for God. Loving the Father and His will precedes all other loves and commandments. At times, especially to man, it may not seem as though we love them according to the flesh. Yes, you can be loving God and your neighbor, but because Christ is “in the space in-between” they will be aggravated, they will mistrust you, accuse you, and draw their own conclusions about you. And, not to mention those who love yet, don’t understand the supernatural love of Christ, they can easily be deceived into living a natural life of love for humans, rather than a life of loving God.

The ultimate reality we must come to terms is that, no matter how much we can love God, our foundation is not on our love for Him, but on His love for us. As it says,

“This is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins.” (1 John 4:10).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, and here at Pam Sheppard Ministries this love is manifested in deed and truth. Our love is founded on God’s love for us and our love is first obligated to the Father through Christ. We do not love from our flesh, but from the Spirit and a sincere heart. This means, that we are going to be more inclined to choosing God’s will, even if that means certain relationships fail for the sake of a greater One. We are able to train you to love the Lord and your neighbor without compromising your love for the Lord by loving your neighbor. Religion’s love is an empty tomb, and man’s love is fleshly gravitated toward selfishness, and easy pleasings. Contact 888-818-1117 for a greater understand of what Christ-like love is or email getreadyforthelord@gmail.com to be in an environment of true Christian love.

We are commanded and exhorted constantly to love our neighbor. The Lord prophesied about love in the endtimes, “Because of lawlessness the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Interestingly, the word “grow cold” in Greek is “psycho.” It’s no doubt that we see psychos everywhere in the world, along with lawlessness. A psycho isn’t always a mad serial killer, it’s simply someone who doesn’t have a heart and whose love is cold. I’m convicted this prophecy is being fulfilled as you read, especially within religious white washed tomb churches.

Well, despite our neighbor’s distinctions, and lawlessness—we still must uphold the royal law of Christ, and love without any distinction, loving without compromising our love for God the Father through Christ Jesus the Son.

Can you relate to the paradox example of Christ’s love? Have there been moments in your life when loving your neighbor appeared to them as not so “loving”? Can you discern the difference between the supernatural love like Christ, from the natural human like love?