“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12: 6-7
Genuine love is hard to come by in this world. Loving people we disagree with can be even harder. Not to mention this world has refined love as a hollow shell of what it is supposed to be.
We are told to love people as long as they are on our side politically.
We are told to love people as long as they don’t make too big of waves.
We are taught that to love someone means to compromise our values in the name of tolerance.
That is not what biblical love is. Biblical love is so much more than tolerance. It is a deep, soul-changing, life-altering, running to the cross and away from your flesh type of love. It is not a surface-level feeling or support whatever is “cool” in the moment action.
The Bible shows us time and time again that God is a detailed oriented God. So much so, he even has numbered every hair on your head. That is how much he cares for you, he knows the intimate details of your life. He sees you at your darkest and loves you even so.
He loves you so much he cares about every hair on your head. I care for a lot of people but I do not know how many hairs they have on their heads. God’s love for us is unimaginable.
As I read the above verse I was first reminded of how much God loves me but then was also reminded of how much he loves others. God loves me enough to count the hairs on my head which also means he loves the person I don’t like just the same. The person that was rude to me, that talked down to me, the person that I avoid at all cost. God loves that person just as much. He loves them so much he sent his son to die for them too. So I asked myself am I treating them like someone Christ died for? I am talking about them like someone who God has counted every hair? If we strive to love others like Christ we have to look at them as someone who God cares for enough to count every hair.
What does this mean? Well, it means biblical love is not afraid to challenge or call out sin in someone's life. It means caring for them like you would want someone to care for yourself. Nurturing relationships properly and realizing we have a God that loves his people enough to send his son to die for us all so we could be free of the sin that holds us hostage.
Love is a word that is overused and sadly even used to manipulate others. But if we look at love through a Biblical lens we realize love is meant to inspire, cultivate change within our souls and hold on to us through the ups and downs of life. Political views and social issues change but biblical love doesn't. So before you go and ruin relationships based on a fade make sure the fade that you are willing to sacrifice so much for aligns with the love and values that come from God.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
