Love Like Jesus

Let me ask you a question today: “Was Hitler a believer?” The answer is simple. Yes, but a believer in what?

He was a believer in a godless society. He believed in evolution and the natural selection teaching of Charles Darwin. He was a believer in superiority; race superiority. He preached it. Lived it. Believed it.

This was evidenced in how he saw people, treated people, and accepted or disposed of people; his hatred led to the Holocaust.

It is interesting to read his philosophy of life. He wrote this: “Nature is cruel; therefore we too can be cruel.” -- Adolf Hitler

Hatred is synonymous of the name of Adolf Hitler. It is also synonymous to the name Satan.

Yet, God’s name is just the opposite. The Bible says: “God is love.” I John 4:7 According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love; to love God and love others. Matthew 22: 34-40.

I John 4:8 says: “Whoever does not loved does not know God, because God is love.”

Transition:

The cry of the human heart regardless of ones culture, language, or background is to be loved.

As we look into the window of God’s Word, to the writings of the gospels, we see Jesus this man who would give and give an give when it came to showing the love of God to us.

The Bible says: “We love Him because He first loved us.” I John 4:19

In verse 1 we read: “Let the love of the brethren continue.” Where did it originate? It originated with Jesus.

His love ignites our love. His Spirit moves our spirit and leads us to loving one another and others. The Greatest Man that every lived gives us gives us the greatest love to share.

The word “continue” means to continually “keep on lodging”--“Keep on dwelling in and through us”- to “Keep on lodging among us.”

The mandate is for Jesus’ love to be consistent in our lives.

Transitional Sentence: How do we show Jesus’ love to others?

I. We Start With Strangers

vs. 2- “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Introduction:

The writer calls and commissions every Christian to show and share Christ’s love with everyone and to start with strangers.

It is easy for us to care about ourselves, our own families, and our own friends but true love takes another step- a step outside our concentric circles and to step up and show love and kindness to strangers.

In the ancient world hospitality was seen in providing for the needs of others. Before there were motels and hotels; Godly men of old would go to the city gates as the sun sat and search for strangers would needed a place to lodge for the night.

Hospitality in the New Testament is actually a requirement for Pastors, overseers, and church leaders. I Timothy 3:2 as we read: “So and elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.”

In Genesis 18 Abraham provided hospitality to three strangers and one of them was God!!!

In verse 2 we are told that God has dispatched angels that appear to be strangers among us who in reality are angels. They come to us looking like an ordinary Joe-- but in reality are on a mission for Jesus.

You might ask: Do you really believe this? The answer is easy. The Bible says its true so it obviously is the truth.

Jesus actually affirmed this saying that people will meet Him in judgment as say: “And when did you see a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:38

Whether it is an angel or a brother, the bottom line is; God was present. He is watching. He is involved and aware of our character and behavior. He is watching us and aware of every time an ounce of His love is being transferred to the individuals around us.

Illustration: Lord Shaftebury- Actions not appearance

Across the pond in England, in the late 18th and early 19th century was a man named Anthony Cooper. He was a philosopher and became an enormous influence and today his works have seen a significant increase in the Universities in England.

Anthony Cooper is better known as Lord Shaftesbury. As A Christian, while he is seen as a social reformer; all he really did was to live out his faith in a practical way. He was an advocate for people who struggled with mental health issues. He sought to benefit the health of Chimney sweepers in his day. He wanted school opportunities for the under privileged. He didn’t do this for the sake of “goodness”-- He did it for God.