I’ve been thinking about love… and how difficult it is to love purely, with no strings attached. Christ loves . . . and we are His. So why do we find it so hard to follow His example?
Hatred, especially indifference is probably the cruelest attitude anyone can have toward another person. The one who is “naturally” hateful or cruel is living in complete opposition to true humanity. Men and women were created in the very image of God—and God is Love, not hate. He is not indifferent toward anyone or anything. Therefore, a “true” man or woman, living in completeness (perfection) as God created them, cannot hate or be indifferent toward anyone.
But we are not yet “true” . . . we are not yet “complete” . . .
It is completeness—perfection—that makes loving purely and completely possible. Without completeness, there is no security. And insecurity makes loving nearly impossible. Christ is perfect and completely secure in His perfection. But we are not perfect . . . that is, we are not yet who God made us to be. We are still growing into the “true” . . . we have not yet arrived. And we are not secure because we know we have not yet arrived. Thus, our insecurity stemming from incompleteness (and pride) hinder us from loving purely.
Jesus told us that we are to be “perfect”—that in Him, we are complete, and that in Him we can accomplish great things. Why can’t one of those things be love? It can. He told us to love one another. And He didn’t leave us powerless to do so . . .
If we want to love purely, like so many of us say we do, we must become complete and secure—and perfection and security are found in Christ. He alone can make into He we were intended to be—the loving, honest, and pure men and women, created for the sole purpose of communing with God and with each other.
When we find that place of perfection and security in Christ we will soon find traces of His love flowing through us—His love is pure and needs nothing in return. Because His love is secure.
