Tough Love

We hear it all the time, from Christians and unbelievers alike; that is "Jesus Christ is love." Yes, that is absolutely true. After all, when He was dying on the cross, He said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)." Furthermore, He utters these words after being betrayed by His friends, falsely convicted of a crime by His accusers and brutally tortured by the authorities. Because of the love Jesus showed towards the world, including His enemies, there can be a misunderstanding as to how all Christians should act. There is this idea that Christians should never show any anger or frustration at things because of the love Jesus displayed during His life and at the time of His death. However, there are times in the life of Jesus many seem to ignore that don't take away from Him being the definition of love, but show the full range of emotions He experienced and displayed. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub (the devil), He replied, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good (Matthew 12:34)?" Then there was the time that Jesus entered the temple and "overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts (Mark 11:15-16)." During the time in Matthew 23 when Jesus delivered what is referred to as the "Seven Woes," He called the teachers of the law and Pharisees things like, "hypocrites," "blind guides" and "blind fools."

Now, I am not advocating that Christians make a habit of calling people names or being disruptive. However, I submit that if the time comes when you do act in such a manner it is not necessarily a display of a lack of love on your part. Jesus, being God, had the benefit of knowing the hearts of men. Also, since He is God He reserves the right to cast judgment on His creation and those in it. While we may not always know the hearts of men, we certainly can know what is in their heart by what they do. Jesus said, "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:18-19)." My point is that there may come a time when you stand against the things that come from the hearts of the lost (i.e. the unclean) that may come across as unloving or un-Christian. However, I submit that they in many ways can be an act of love. A wise man once said, "If you can't bridge the gap, then make it as wide as possible." His point is that if you can't come to agreement with someone on a subject, then do what you can to show just how far apart you are in your beliefs. There are times when people need to be confronted with the full force of how wrong they are especially when it comes to the things of the Lord; salvation, truth, forgiveness, etc. The harsh things Jesus said and did at times could come across as unloving and un-Christian, especially to those on the receiving end, but you can bet the recipients of what He said and did knew exactly where they stood. Knowing where you stand, regardless of how you get there is often times the most loving thing that can happen.