Making Sense

All of my life, I have been surrounded with logical thinkers.  My mother, and her father before her, set the genetic stage for logic and a bent toward methodical and scientific thinking. Both of my brothers are engineers and my youngest son is now finishing his university program in chemical engineering as well. 

The father of my oldest two children always despised being around people, even though he ran a business. He would come home daily, saying, “I hate people.”  I knew what he meant was that people are illogical, irrational, and exhausting.  I get it. I really do.

Yet, we are told to love. It is that simple. We are called to love people. Period. The fourth chapter of 1 John tells us that we can’t say that we love God if we hate others. This passage also says that we are lying if we say we love God and yet are not acting in love to those around us.  The gist is— how can we love the God we cannot see when we do not love those we do.

I have a rational answer for that. (I can’t help it—it’s in the genes).

It is hard to love those who let us down. We get upset when others do not act according to our expectations. They get angry when we make a mistake. God doesn’t. He forgives us.  They do hurtful things because they put self first. God doesn’t. He always has our best interest in mind, even when we don’t understand. It is always for our good. They will say unkind things and not be true to their word. Yet, God is always true to His word. 

See?  I can show very rationally how it is much easier to love the God we cannot see than those in the flesh around us.

But that is not what we are called to do. We are called to love the way Jesus loved. We are called to love not because of the performance of others, but in spite of.  When we do that, we are able to move forward in Kingdom work.  When we stay stuck in our opinions of how others should be acting, we are always disappointed. Loving someone means loving in spite of how they act or what they say.

This is illogical. It makes no rational sense. When something hurts, we stop doing it. That is logical. Yet, here is our perfect God telling us to do something that goes against everything we understand about preserving our well-being. If we eat something harmful, we throw it up. If we touch something hot, we withdraw our hand to keep from further burning. If the ground is full of sharp objects, we wear shoes. These are sensible things to do. So why does God Almighty ask us to love those who are unlovable?

It’s because He asked us to. It’s really that simple. Because He said so. 

The results, however, are worthy and have a scientific basis. When we harbor anger, we hurt ourselves. Medical professionals tell us that extra hormones are produced during episodes of stress and anger that will, over time, cause considerable damage to our health.  When we love instead of react in anger, we are helping ourselves more than we realize. If you don’t believe me, the internet is full of this information—just a Google search away!

When we are able to walk in obedience and love instead, then God is able to do His amazing work.  This is what forgiveness is all about. Remember the prayer Jesus gave us? Forgive us as we forgive others?

Forgiveness means a decision to love instead of harbor anger and resentment. It means letting go.

So for those logical thinkers out there, reframe this seemingly irrational command to love those who haven’t (in our minds) earned it by viewing it with Jesus-eyes.

When we do, we help ourselves. Instead of hanging on to all of the reasons and justifications to stay angry, hold onto the truth.  Loving others is healing yourself.

Now that just makes perfect sense!