Love—Only a Word?

Love is a terribly misused word today. How does Jesus Christ define it?

What does love mean to you? In music and movies today “love” equals sex, especially selfish, immoral sex.

Just in the last 10 to 15 years, the decline in morals of nations around the world has been as disconcerting and startling as it has been shocking. Yes, in our “enlightened” age, people no longer fear to do wrong!

Love to a new dimension

The Bible speaks out very clearly against immorality in any form. But Jesus took the whole concept of love to a new dimension. Everyone knows the scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). But Jesus also said, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12, emphasis added throughout). That is, look how I loved you! I gave My life for you on the cross! Would you do that for your neighbor? Or for someone you do not even know?

Yet Jesus took it even further. He actually instructed us to “love your enemies.” “Do good to those who hate you,” He continued. “If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:44, 46).

A real-life test

Recently, my wife’s mother died, and my sister-in-law was appointed executor of her estate. A small farm was left to my sister-in-law, and a small property to our family trust.

One day, an email arrived from a lawyer containing a number of documents that had to be signed to enable the transfer of ownership of the property. Unfortunately, these documents had been incorrectly drawn up, and the lawyer’s invoice was unreasonably high.

I phoned him, pointing these things out, and suggested that a lower fee would be fair. He was not keen on the idea but promised to consider it and come back to me later in the day.

However, I discovered later that as soon as he put down the phone, he phoned the executor and insisted that she come to his office immediately to sign documents. When she arrived, he pressured her to sign a check for his full fee for both transfers, saying he could not proceed until she had done so. Under duress, the poor woman, 76 years old and infirm and with little or no legal knowledge, paid what he asked. (Naturally, having got his money, the lawyer did not phone me back.)

Shortly thereafter, I mentioned this episode to an old friend of mine, who is a retired lawyer. He was incensed. “He has overreached an old lady!” he cried. He told me that there is no excuse for this kind of behavior in the legal profession, and I must report the lawyer to the Law Society.

What would you have done?

I did nothing.

Without a harsh word

The next morning, I phoned the lawyer and asked whether he had redrafted the incorrect documents and when he could forward them to me, as I was keen to move forward on the transfer. Surprise and guilt echoed in his voice! He promised to send the documents the same day and to work closely with me to finalize the transfer.

I could not help thinking of Luke 13:17: “And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame”! Jesus makes it very clear that your integrity is of prime importance: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).

It was evident that, without a harsh word, I had brought home to the lawyer that he had acted selfishly and unwisely; and to an extent, it was clear that he regretted his actions.

If the lawyer experienced any kind of second thoughts about his bullying attitude, then something will have been accomplished! I could have chosen to report him to the Law Society or even sued him. After all, I have a duty as a citizen and as a Christian to try to prevent this from happening to anyone else. I expect that he would have denied the allegations and would have fought me tooth and nail, and I may well have made an enemy who vented his anger on my wife’s sister and her family. In this case, I got the feeling he had learned an important lesson, so I chose to drop the matter there. Time will tell if my decision to be merciful was the best one in this case

Jesus sets the bar high

The command by Jesus is indeed a very difficult one for selfish mortal men to execute. But even without loving our enemies, at least we can carry out the second part: “Do good to those who hate you.” Remember Matthew 5:45: God “sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

As we grow in grace and knowledge, hopefully we may learn in time to emulate Jesus and love all members of the human race!

Larry Murray is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a marathon runner for over 20 years, then switched to cycling 10 years ago and has ridden the Cape Argus Cycle Tour seven times. Alet, his wife of 37 years, is an artist in her spare time.