What nature teaches about True Love

This was remarkable when it finally hit me:

When Jesus gave his challenging command to love our enemies, the reason he gave was because nature does so. The sun shines on both the good and the evil. The rain falls on both the just and the unjust.

For my part, when I hear of child abuse, or the horrific slaughter of civilians in war, my instinct is to immediately wish for the perpetrators to be wiped out in the worst sort of way. Why does God allow these things to happen? Why does nature – the trees, the sky, the light of day -- stand mute as it witnesses these atrocities?

I still do not know. And I still wish the worst for the perpetrators. And in the abstract, I feel perfectly free to continue to wish so. So there.

But here is the new insight: The muteness of nature does not speak of God’s lack of care. It speaks of the height of his care in that the regularity of natural patterns is one way to demonstrate the consistency and dependability of his love.

If God were to respond “in the worst sort of way” to every misconduct of man, I myself would not be here to wish the worst sort of things on others. I myself would have been wiped out long ago.

Not that I am an abuser of children or a slaughterer of innocent people.

The point is this: Love, if it is to be True Love, cannot be calibrated according to how "worse" a sin is. If it is to be True Love, it cannot be calibrated according to how we feel about something or someone based upon events or actions.

There is an objectivity – almost a muteness – to True Love that perseveres through the most unbelievable, the most unacceptable, the most outrageous challenges against its character.

And still survives unchanged as True Love. All other loves fall short of this True, Objective, Love.

And so when you do something screwball today, there is one thing you can count on. When sunrise is scheduled to come to your neck of the woods, it’ll come.

And you’d better fall on your knees and repent of your sins, and thank God for the dependability of his love.

Logos2Go

Matthew 5.44-48 "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? "And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The above insights came out of our every-other Friday night Bible study. Aside from the Scripture texts on love your enemies (the other one is Luke 6.27-34), we were using John Piper “Love your Enemies – Lead Them to Truth” in What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2006), 212-220. I believe “objective love” is a term Piper uses in this chapter, although right now I’m too lazy to look it up.