Love Like That

ByJim Stephens

Reading: Ephesians 5; Psalm 102

1 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. 2 Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  (Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG)

Religion often portrays God as a rigid rule-master or a harsh disciplinarian. Both Jesus and Paul correct that false perception by reminding us that God’s rules are only for our good and his discipline is motivated entirely by his unconditional love.

He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love… (Psalm 30:5 MSG)

God loves extravagantly – so extravagantly that he sent heaven’s greatest treasure to earth in the form of his one-and-only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus loves extravagantly – so extravagantly that he sacrificed his own life, so the living dead could really live.

God is our Father, we are his kids. Children learn from the example of their parents. Jesus is our Master-Teacher and we are his disciple-students. Disciple-students learn from the example of their Master-Teacher.

Let’s take our cue and pattern our lives after God our Father, and not after the selfish, cautious, greedy, hoarding, example of the messed-up world we live in! The message is clear, the pattern proven. Love extravagantly, be generous to a fault, share what you have with those who don’t have, give what you’ve got to those who have nothing.

Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others… (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 MSG)

Prayer:

Father, I battle the tendency to think about myself and what I want, more than about others and what they need. With C.S. Lewis, I confess I have never had a completely unselfish thought. I battle the temptation to try to get and hold on rather than to give and let go. Help me to fasten my gaze on your extravagant love and generous giving and live out what I see in you. Help me to love like that and live like that. Amen.