J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“Love Anyway”
From the Series "The Paradoxical Commandments"
Scripture: Luke 6:32-36
September 9, 2007
Frances was a member of the second church I served as pastor. She had the reputation of being a “no-nonsense” person, and while her bluntness was difficult for some of the people who had grown up in the church, she and I got along famously. You just had to understand that Frances was going to speak her mind, and if you didn’t want her to speak her mind, then you didn’t need to ask her any questions.
One Wednesday night we were together for our midweek Bible study. I was doing a lesson on love, when I opened the door. “Does anybody have any questions?” I asked. Frances shot up her hand. I’ll never forget it. People had moved to the edge of their seats in anticipation of what Frances was going to ask. “Brother Doug,” she began, “do I have to love everybody?” By now, everybody wasn’t just on the edge of his seat; everybody was leaning forward, anxious to hear how their twenty-something preacher was going to respond.
I understood where Frances was coming from, and I understood why everyone was on the edge of his seat. Some people are impossible to love. Some people aren’t worthy of our love. Some people are incorrigible. Some people are irrational. Some people are hopelessly selfish. Some people are impossible to love.
How would you have answered Frances? It depends on how serious you are about the teachings of Jesus.
This morning we have before us one of the tough teachings of Jesus (as if any of the teachings of Jesus is easy). It’s a teaching that comes from what students of Luke’s gospel call “the Sermon on the Plain.” On this occasion Jesus is with his disciples at what Luke’s gospel calls “a level place” and the content of his message parallels what he had shared in his “Sermon on the Mount.” And it is just as radical. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them” (Luke 6:32).
Lest you think this was not a difficult teaching for the people who first heard it, think again. In many ways, it may have been more difficult for them than for us. The region of Judea, where Jesus centered his ministry, was under the domination of the Romans. Their presence in the land was a constant reminder of how God’s promise to bless His people was yet to be fulfilled. Moreover, there were some Jews who had sided with the Romans out of simple self-interest. The whole country was split over how to deal with this foreign presence. And here comes Jesus, preaching a message of love. “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back” (Luke 6:35). How did Jesus expect anyone to do that? More importantly, how does Jesus expect anyone to do that today?
The place to begin is by understanding what Jesus meant by his use of the word “love.” Our English language is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to understanding the meaning of this teaching, because we have only one word to describe love. The Greeks had three. The first was eros, which speaks to the passionate devotion that couples have for one another. The second is philos, which speaks to the warm affection that people may have for one another. The third is the one that Luke uses to characterize Jesus’ teaching. It is the word agape, which speaks to the gracious, determined, and active interest that Jesus expects his followers to have for the welfare of others. It is a love that unlike eros or philos is not affected even by hatred, cursing, or abuse. It is a love not limited by the calculation of how we might benefit from extending it. It is a love that is based solely and entirely on the nature of God.
Which is precisely why it is so hard for us to relate to other people with agape love – we insist on trying to practice it in our own power instead of in the power of God.
Bertrand Russell was a great philosopher of the last century. Raised a Christian, he adopted atheism later in his life. So, he was somewhat familiar with the teachings of Jesus, but not so much in terms of their actual meaning. In one place he comments, “The Christian principle, ‘Love your enemies’ is good…. There is nothing to be said against it, except that it is too difficult for most of us to practice sincerely” (as quoted in Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 183).
Actually, Russell didn’t go far enough. It is not just too difficult for most of us. It is too difficult for any of us. It can only be practiced by the person whose life has been transformed by an experience of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
When you look at the gospels, that’s exactly what the love of Jesus did. It changed people…radically. It altered something inside of them so that they were able to relate to others in selfless and sacrificial ways.
I think of Simon Peter, who comes off as impulsive and temperamental, until in the 21st chapter of John’s gospel, the Risen Jesus asks Peter this question: “Do you love me?” And when Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you,” Jesus responds, “Then feed my sheep” (John 21:17). “Be concerned about those whom I call my own.”
And Peter did. In fact, so did all who experienced the power of Jesus’ love. What distinguished all of those who called themselves followers of Jesus was the way they expressed concern for others without regard for what others might do for them in return.
I don’t know of anything that has the potential to change this world like the love of Jesus Christ. If I did know of anything else, I’d pursue it. But the energy of Jesus’ unconditional love is in a league of its own.
A while back I came across a story that illustrates the transforming power of love. It seems that a family was out on a Sunday afternoon drive. It was a pleasant afternoon, and they were moving at a leisurely pace down the road. Suddenly, the two children were pounding their father in the back. “Daddy, daddy, stop the car! There’s a kitten back there on the side of the road.
The dad says, “So.” “But Daddy, you’ve got to stop. If you don’t stop the kitten will die.”
The dad was relentless. “Well then, it’ll have to die. We don’t room for another animal. It’s already a zoo around our house. No more animals. We’re not stopping.”
“But Daddy, are you going to just let it die?” “Be quiet, children; we’re having a pleasant drive.”
The kids continued to whimper. “We never thought our Daddy would be so mean as to let a kitten die.”
Finally, the mother turns to her husband and says, “Dear, you’re going to have to stop.” So, he turned the car around, returned to the spot, and pulled the car off to the side of the road.”
“You kids stay in the car. I’ll see about the kitten.” He got out to pick up the kitten, that was just skin and bones, sore-eyed and full of fleas. When the dad reached down to pick it up, with its last bit of energy the kitten bristled, baring tooth and claws. The dad picked up the kitten by the loose skin at the neck, brought it over to the car and said, “Don’t touch it; it’s probably got leprosy.”
When they got back to the house, the children gave the kitten several baths, about a gallon of warm milk, and began begging their father, “Daddy, can we let it stay in the house just tonight? Tomorrow we’ll fix it a place in the garage.”
By now, the dad knew that he had lost the war. “Sure,” he said, “take my bedroom. The whole house is already a zoo.” So, the kids fixed a comfortable bed, fit for a pharaoh.
Several weeks passed, and one day the father walked into the bedroom, felt something rubbing against his leg, looked down, and there was a cat. Carefully checking to see that no one was watching, he reached down toward the cat. When the cat saw his hand, it didn’t show claws and hiss; instead, it arched its back to receive a caress.
“Is this the same cat?” the father asked himself. “It couldn’t be the same cat. It’s not the same as that frightened, hurt, hissing cat they picked up on the side of the road.”
Of course it wasn’t. It wasn’t the same cat, and the dad wasn’t the same father. And you know as well as I what made the difference in both of them.
“Brother Doug, do I have to love everybody?” I know what you mean. Some people are incorrigible. Some people are irrational. Some people are hopelessly selfish. Some people are impossible to love.
But Jesus calls us to love them anyway, for love is what Jesus was all about, and if we are serious about being his disciples, it’s what he expects us to be about also.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
He is more than kind, and thus so should we be also. For Christ’s sake, so should we be also.