"Jesus Loves Everybody"

Recently I have heard many politicians reminding people that 'Jesus loves everybody'.  Jesus does love everybody. He sacrificed his life for every human being that has ever lived on this planet. With this in mind, we also have to  understand of how biblical love is defined by truth. It is not  to be misconstrued for the purposes of manipulation and politics. Man is not the author and definer of love.

Jesus spoke the truth in love. Love is inseparable from truth. All one has to do is read the four gospels that record the comings and goings of Jesus, to know that he loved people with the truth. He loved people when he confronted the Pharisees and called them 'whited sepulchers' and told them they were of their father, the devil.  He spoke the truth in love to the woman caught in adultery (John 8) when he drove away her accusers and told her then to 'go and sin no more'.

 

One incident that I love in the gospels is when he walked through the temple throwing over the money-changer tables because they were merchandising God:

                                                         

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.Matthew 21:12-13

He didn't mince words and his 'zeal' in this record is encouraging. It was a big deal.

Almost on every page of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are admonitions and warnings about how to stay out of the proverbial soup. He spoke teaching and guidance not legalism. He knew God's word and he spoke it.

There is no love that is greater than God's love. It is only God's love that satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts.

Righteous Confidence

When a person has righteous confidence, the reaction to fear, criticism, gaslighting, mockery and disrespect all seem to become more and more insignificant. Yes, there are gray areas where we wobble at times. but there are tools like truth and believing that help us to push them away.

 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved (made complete, whole spiritually, mentally, and physically). For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Romans 10:1-3

It is important that we get our sense of what is right from the best source. There is no source better than God; the whole creation testifies to his goodness and love. Our minds can deceive us as to what we imagine to be right especially when we try to develop our own rules. The things we want to happen may not serve us well. Certainly we can learn from experience and watching others; but these practices can also engender pressure and deception. 

God's word is pure and helps us to focus on the fair, just and right way of doing anything. When we understand God's love and faithfulness, we get assurance that exceeds anything we could imagine. Confidence, when it is right or even if it is based on small details or on 'least commandments' have significant importance in our success in life:

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:18-20

In belonging to a kingdom, a person has the rights and privileges of that kingdom. Certainly, we want the privileges and rights that only God can give. God's grace through his son has given us the opportunity to be in a relationship with the Creator of the universe!

During the time that Jesus walked this earth, the law was fulfilled by his sacrifice and resurrection. His ascension brought forth a new contract with God through the action of the gift of holy spirit in each individual life that believes.   

The religious leaders at that time had other agendas. The scribes studied the law and the Pharisees taught the law and it was in their elite position of the authority of the law that they increased their power and literally 'stuck it to' those under their authority. That is not what God had in mind. God had grace in mind.

When Jesus said those words in Matthew 5:20, he wasn't setting up a competition between the believer and the Pharisees to see who was better able to do the law. He was calling the believer to the grace walk of completeness in righteous confidence. When a person has that type of confidence, God is his authority and he lives a life of peace, unfettered by what goes on around him. There's a common idiomatic expression we use today about being 'comfortable in your own skin'. The love of God goes way beyond its meaning. It's about being comfortable in your own mind, body and spirit and produces a truly beautiful peace.

Good reading on this: The 3rd Epistle of John