Sermon On The Mount: Hard Love
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NKJV)
Jesus on the Cross is our Example, our heart-piercing, mind-wrenching Example, of loving earth’s most unloveable men.
Let’s consider someone NOT so perfect.
Let’s look at Jonah, God’s reluctant star, who did NOT want to love those he hated, namely the cruel men of Ninevah: Israel’s mean, merciless enemies.
He did NOT want to go and preach to them or warn them of their pending punishment. Jonah wanted the Ninevites DESTROYED. He had witnessed their terrible war crimes. Therefore…
'Jonah ran away from the Lord' (Jonah 1:3).
He got on a ship, and a cruel storm kept beating the boat. So Jonah confessed:
'Pick me up and throw me into the sea... and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you' (Jonah 1:12).
He landed in the belly of a fish. But because Jonah sacrificed himself to save the other people on the ship, His Father saved him.
Although his heart was still torn and doubtful, Jonah obeyed and warned the Ninevites.
Their response? 'They turned from their evil ways' (Jonah 3:10). God’s response in turn? Their city was spared. 'But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry' (Jonah 4:1).
Jonah had a tough time showing God’s love to those he believed didn’t deserve it. In his human mind, God's mercy seemed incomprehensible. God's response to him?
'Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?' (Jonah 4:11).
Actors, models, and talent for Christ: Like Jonah, God gave you a commission: to show love in an unlovable field.
Unlike Jonah, you know what Jesus did… And more significantly, you know WHY!
Many in Hollywood have done wrong things.
It's tempting to want to see them punished.
It's tempting to run from this assignment.
It's tempting to hang low with your homies.
But God Himself directs you otherwise. Because He ‘Desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth' (1 Timothy 2:4).
You know the Truth, and His Name is Jesus. Through your clearly unreasonable love, many will meet Him--and some will believe.
Sermon On The Mount: Hard Love (Part 14)
NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a 2013 Carey Lewis Devotion. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.