I Love You
Posted on: February 1, 2020
Quite possibly the most famous words in the whole world, I love you. These words are used to express our affection for the love of our life, our children, our parents, our family, our friends even our pets. While some people may struggle to say these three little words, they feel them. It is easy to love the people in our lives that affirm us, make us feel cared for and meet our emotional needs.
What about the people in our lives that don’t meet our emotional needs? What about the difficult people? What about the ones that don’t live up to our standards? What about the ones that don’t bring anything we want or need to the table?
Jesus was very clear about how we are to love the unlovely in our lives.
Matthew 5:44-But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:46-For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Matthew 19:19-Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mark 12:31-And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:33-And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Luke 6:27-But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:32-For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
Luke 6:35-But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Luke 10:27-And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
John 13:34-A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:35-By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 15:12-This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
John 15:17-These things I command you, that ye love one another.
When Jesus was teaching the people about loving each other, it’s understandable that He would repeat His point throughout his teaching. He wanted to be sure the people got the point He was making. We see that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who were His disciples, were recording His teachings as well as learning these lessons themselves.
After driving His point home with the early church and having four of His disciples record these teachings, He placed them in our Bible FOUR times. He is driving His point home to US times four!
There were unlovely people in Jesus’ time and He showed them love and compassion.
Matthew 8:28-32 Jesus cast out the demons tormenting two men
Matthew 9:1-7 Jesus healed the man with palsy and forgave his sins
Matthew 9:10-13 Jesus ate with the publicans and sinners; the very same people considered unworthy by the religious leaders
Matthew 9:20-22 Jesus healed the woman that had menstrual bleeding for twelve years; a woman was considered unclean during her menstrual cycle; Jesus not only healed her when she touched Him but He called her Daughter
Matthew 9:23-25 Jesus raised the ruler’s daughter from the dead
Matthew 9:27-30 Jesus healed two blind men
Matthew 26:6 Jesus was in the house of Simon, the leper; lepers were outcasts because of their disease
John 8:1 Jesus showed compassion and love for a woman in adultery and forgave her of her sins
John 1-39 Jesus spent time with the adulterous woman at the well; because He engaged her and listened to her, her testimony caused many of the people of the city to believe in Him
These are just a few examples of how Jesus loved.
He loved them in spite of their sin, in spite of their disease, in spite of their life condition. He loves us. We have ALL sinned, we are all diseased in some way and we all have situations in our lives that make us unlovely by His standards.
By dying on the cross as the once and final sacrifice for our sins, He didn’t just tell us but he showed us He loves us. He loved us before the foundations of the earth (John 17:24) and NOTHING separates us from His love. That’s really great news!
Romans 8:38-39 AMP For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have all been unlovely and not deemed worthy but Jesus loves anyway. He has never rejected us, never refused us, never talked about us, never ever made excuses why He couldn’t help us. He loves us. Really, truly loves us. Let us love one another.
John 13:34-35 AMP I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
Cindy A. Barrington
Just Me! 
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