The Unasked Question

"...live in love, as Christ loved us."  (Ephesians 5:1)  Sounds simple enough.  Here is a word which is not difficult to understand.   But, then, we are not sure we want to live our life by such a high standard.  If we did our friendships would not go bankrupt and our marriages would not go bust.  To look at the way Christ loves us is to see a love which goes beyond anything most of us have ever really practiced.  From time to time we may rise to heights which surprise us, but most of the time we live too much in that world which seeks to serve self.

 

Christ had nothing to do with serving self.  He gave up all rights to Himself when He made the journey from heaven to Bethlehem.  "...though He was in the form of God, (He) did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness..." (Philippians 4:6-7)  But, the emptying out of Himself for us did not stop with the moment of birth.  To continue reading that same section is to encounter a Word from God which says, "...(He) became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross."  (Philippians 4:8)  Nothing was more important to Christ than living in love and dying in love for the likes of me and you.

 

He asked for no response guarantees before He acted.  What He did He did because of the love which motivated Him.  He did what He did not for just a few, but for everyone regardless of their attitude toward Him and despite the things which were wrong about their lives.  To much of our loving brings us to the question, "What's in it for me?"  It is a question Christ never has asked and never will ask.  And, if we are serious about living in love as Christ loves us, we will never ask it either.