Love does No Harm?

 As Christians, we are commanded by Jesus to love each other:

John 13:34-35 NIV

[34]  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

He said by loving each other, everyone would know we belong to Him.

The Whole Bible is wrapped up in this command to love God and love people:

Matthew 22:34-40 NIV

[34] Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. [35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” [37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Okay let's get even more specific than that:

Romans 13:10 NIV

[10] Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

Love never does ANY harm to anyone EVER. This sums up the whole Bible.

As Christians, this is how we walk like Jesus did.

You might be exasperated at this point saying, "Jeff, how in the world am I supposed to do that?"

Well, my friend, as Christians, the Holy Spirit lives inside us, and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, so we CAN love everyone with His working through us to do so. So indeed our love CAN never do any harm to anyone else as we are led by the Spirit. That's the way people will know we are Christians: love does no harm to anyone ever!

If we read Luke 6:27-36, it can now become clear why He teaches us this lesson. Because "love does no harm to neighbor."

Luke 6:27-36 NIV

[27]  “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [29] If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. [30] Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. [31] Do to others as you would have them do to you. [32]  “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. [34] 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. [35] 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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. [36] Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 

Ok Jesus, so you're saying love those who hate me, or cuss me out, or mistreat me, or use me, or never pay me back when I loan them money, or who steal from me, or who hit me in the face, or who try to fight me, etc.? Yep. That's what He's saying. 

Love never does any harm to anyone else, whether they do harm to us or not.

At this point, you may be completely frustrated. You may be angry or irritated because that is not the way the world acts at all. That's not how you were raised. If you're a man, you are not going to take crap off of anybody!! Lol. This is a hard teaching because it challenges everything we have ever been taught about how to treat people who are not good to us.

You can see how this kind of love could truly be a "light" in a dark world. Because it is not a normal response when people do not treat us good. 

If we never do any harm to anyone no matter who they are or what they do to us, then God's love shines out into the world through us. God's love is seen in our lives and can impact people for good.

We can see why loving everyone impartially is so important. God will draw people to Himself by our love towards them, and then the Holy Spirit can do the rest and they can be saved and go to heaven.

All roads lead to that single purpose for us as Christians. People will be saved and go to heaven because of us. God makes His "appeal" to the world through us. By our love, He saves people.

So be merciful to all people at all times whether we think they deserve it or not, because God has been and is merciful to us. 

See how "love never fails?" So great!!

Please share this post with others!!

Love you dear readers,

Jeffrey Post