Fruit of the Spirit - Week 2, Day 1

Love Hurts (An "In Spite Of" Kind of Love)

This might be the number one reason we aren't as loving as God has called us to be:
Love hurts.

If you truly love others the way we talked about last week, your heart will be broken by people. That really makes you want to love more, doesn't it? But it's true.

When you open your heart to people, when you allow yourself to go and reach out, there will be times you won't be received the way you may have hoped. Loving others this way might hurt you more than you ever realized. If you find yourself there today, I want you to know that you are in some elite company. Jesus' love hurt Him too.

Jesus left His throne in heaven to be born in a smelly stable because of love. Jesus' heart was broken as a boy, time and time again, when people would remind Him that He was an illegitimate son. That Joseph wasn't His dad. They would later say, "Isn't this Mary's son?" It was the people's way of reminding Jesus of what they thought of Him and His mother. I'm sure those words stung every time, especially when He saw what those words did to His mom.

His heart broke every time they didn't believe He was who He said He was. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, opposed Jesus and spread all kinds of lies and rumors about Him, and yet, Jesus just kept on loving them.

Jesus loved people who society had long since forgotten about. He continued to reach out to those who society labeled as the worst of all sinners. He just kept on loving them. Jesus' best friends, His disciples, the guys He spent over three years with, left Jesus high and dry. They had made big promises that they would have Jesus' back. They even said they would die for Him, but when the pressure was on and the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, these friends ran away to save their necks. They left Jesus, and He had to face His death alone. His friends betrayed Him, denied Him, and doubted Him, and yet, He continued to love them.

They tried Him and beat Him. They spit on Him; they placed a crown of thorns on His head and beat Him with a staff over and over again. They tied Him to a pole and whipped Him, and yet, He still loved them.

Pilate sentenced Him to be crucified between two thieves. They drove nails into His hands and feet, and they raised His cross and dropped it into the ground. And what were the first words He said? "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

As He hung there, they laughed at Him and mocked Him. One thief cursed Him, and the other begged for forgiveness. And Jesus looked at Him and loved Him. In six hours one Friday, Jesus showed us the price of love.

Jesus said, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12-13 (NIV)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16 (NIV)

Make no mistake about it. Loving others will hurt you from time to time. I think that is why many of us build up walls that keep people out of our lives. We have been burned before, and we are afraid that we will get burned again. Jesus kept on loving others no matter what. How about us?

How are you going to respond when loving others gets hard? Are you going to walk away and wash your hands of them, or will you love others with the same "in spite of" kind of love that Jesus offers you?

• When you feel unappreciated, keep on loving.
• When you feel like they aren't listening, keep on loving.
• When you want to put your arms up in the air and throw in the towel, keep on loving.

Time Out:

1. Look up 1 Corinthians 13:7-8. Write out the attributes of love in these two verses.

2. Loving others sometimes comes with a price. What price have you paid in loving other people?

3. Everyone has been burned in the past by someone else. What should you do with those feelings of hurt and pain?

4. Jesus' love for us hurt Him as well. According to our devotional, what were the first words that Jesus shouted out from the cross?

5. We can build up walls and keep people out and watch our hearts become more and more unloving, or we can forgive others in the same way that Jesus has forgiven us. Which one have you chosen, and how is that working out for you?