Love Isn’t Easy

Love Isn’t Easy

Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.

Matthew 5:44

Love isn’t easy. Not for you. Not for me. Not even for Jesus. Want proof? Listen to his frustration: “You people have no faith. How long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you?” (Mark 9:19).

How long must I put up with you?

“Long enough to be called crazy by my brothers and a liar by my neighbors. Long enough to be run out of my town and my Temple. . . .”

How long? “Until the rooster sings and the sweat stings and the mallet rings and a hillside of demons smirk at a dying God.”

How long? “Long enough for every sin to so soak my sinless soul that heaven will turn in horror until my swollen lips pronounce the final transaction: ‘It is finished.’”

How long? “Until it kills me.”

A Love Worth Giving