In a Self-Centered World, God’s People Love Like Their Father

Introduction

If there’s one thing we’ve all learned in our lives, it’s that the world can change fast. Things that felt stable for decades can shift in a matter of months. And in recent years, we’ve experienced that firsthand — changes in culture, changes in values, changes in how people think about truth, identity, family, and purpose. The question isn’t whether things are changing. The question is: how do God’s people live faithfully when the world around us won’t stop moving?

One of the big changes we’ve seen in our world really started after World War 2 - Expressive Individualism. If you’ve heard statements like “Be true to you” “Do your own thing” “Follow your heart” these are statements that became mainstream in the 1960s and 1970s and dominated our country, and eventually the world. Moving away from looking out for others to focusing more on the individual. Because of this shift, especially in our nation over the last 50-60 years, we now have what many would describe as a “self-centered” society. A “me-first” mentality… and this starts from the time that we are little.

More and more kids believe today that the world genuinely does revolve around themselves. Their preferences. Their needs. Their wants. Parents have enabled this and grandparents have played a role in spoiling their grandkids too! But we just look around at our world and we wonder, why are people so focused on self? To one level, this feels natural, doesn’t it? If someone cuts you off, there is an urge that we have to want to cut them off as well. If someone wrongs me, sometimes I want to wrong them too. It would be strange not to act whenever this happens. If someone hurts you, you move away. If someone takes advantage of you, you close the door. This is how we naturally respond to problems, we look out for self.

Into this world of self, Jesus speaks in Luke 6 of things that sound downright impossible! Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Do good to those who hate you. None of this is natural! And this is the point this morning - Jesus saves us and whenever He saves us, He changes us… and that change isn’t always easy, in fact it’s often the opposite of what we would normally and naturally do. This morning, as we continue Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, let’s see how we can love like our Father.

Luke 6:27–36 CSB

27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Does anyone else feel a little like a failure, or is it just me? Here is some good news: While these are commands, we aren’t welcomed into heaven based on our performance to measure up… we’re welcomed into heaven because of the perfection of Jesus. We obey not in order to be accepted, we obey because we have been accepted by God because of Jesus. Let’s thank Him for what He has done this morning, and ask Him to help us change into the people He wants us to be

Christian Love Refuses to Repay Evil with Evil (27-31)

Have you discovered that our world loves the word “love?” A few years ago I was at the airport, and I overheard a conversation where someone said that they loved Auntie Annes pretzels, flying, and their spouse all in the span of 2 sentences. Maybe you love those 3 things as well, but we certainly mean different things when we say them, don’t we? We love our spouse differently than we love a pretzel! Today, people say that they love many things. People love comforts - things that make us feel good. People love convenience, not awkwardness. People love autonomy, the ability to make our own schedules and, for many, to create their own truth. People love being right. We love lots of things. Good news, God loves things too! Check out this incredible truth in 1 John 4

1 John 4:7–8 CSB

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Do you see this? God is LOVE. We know that there are several words used to describe God in the Bible. We call these His attributes. God is… Holy. Love. Merciful. Gracious. Just. Righteous. Perfect. Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. We can think of even more! We know that the Bible tells us these things, but we also know this because God demonstrates them through action! God shows His grace by giving people salvation that they could never deserve or earn. God shows mercy by not immediately giving us the punishment we deserve because of our sin. God shows His love and justness at the same time on the cross, as Jesus took our place and bore our sin, satisfying God’s wrath against sin and giving us eternal life. God’s love is an active love, not a passive one

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

This is our God! He is love. He shows His love by giving Himself for us. Aren’t you thankful for this incredible truth this morning? This is what we call the Gospel, or the good news! God created, Man sinned, Jesus came, We respond. This loving God, issues a command for His people in this text, and it’s quite the call to action and starts with a call to love your enemies.

Jesus doesn’t say to tolerate your enemies. He doesn’t say to hold a grudge against your enemies. He doesn’t say to like them… He says to love them. Love those who have wronged you. Love them. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. These are all imperative commands in the Greek! These aren’t suggestions for when you’re feeling extra nice… these are commands for all of God’s people at all times! Doesn’t this sound impossible? Can we “Americanize” this verse?

Get even with your enemies. Hate those who hate you. Curse those who curse you. Pray for God to punish those who mistreat you.

That’s at least a temptation for us at times. But here Jesus commands us to do something different. Something unnatural. Many of you know that the Greek has 4 words for love. Jesus demands agape love - this isn’t the romantic love, brotherly love, or a natural love. He demands a love that says this, “I will love this person because, by God’s grace, I choose to love this person.” The only way that we can love our enemies this deeply is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Back in 2018, there was a story that was breaking news as a young Christian man was shot and killed in his apartment by an off-duty officer. Several months later, this officer was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison. The victim’s 18 year old brother asked to make a statement and stood before the court and before this woman who killed his brother. He said, “I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you. I wasn’t going to say this, but I forgive you. I know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you. I love you like anyone else.” He then asked the judge if he could give her a hug, and he did. I remember several people calling this 18 year old weak. But this wasn’t easy. This wasn’t weakness. This wasn’t denying the justice she deserved and received. This was Christian love as a young man refused to let hatred have the last word. Christian love refuses to let evil win.

Imagine being in the crowd hearing Jesus preach this part. You clean out your ears, you whisper to the person next to you, “Did He really just say that?” That’s not where it stops either… The way that you love your enemies is by doing what follows - it’s not simply having a warm fuzzy feeling, it’s about doing good, blessing them, and praying for them. Jesus’ point is this: My people are to do what is good, even when there is a cost. Jesus doesn’t say to love your friends. Or to love your family. Or to love those who bless you or speak well of you or those who grew up with you or work with you or go to church with you. The basis for us loving these people is not on account of their merit, but on account of the reality that our Maker first loved us.

The reason that you and I are to love our enemies, is because God first loved you and me whenever we were His enemies!

Romans 5:6–8 CSB

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Agape love isn’t a blind love - it’s not ignoring the sin, the curse, the wrong, the pain that they have caused. You don’t ignore the sin - Jesus is going a step further. Understand the sin. Understand the pain they have caused. Love them. Because that’s what God with you. He didn’t ignore your sin. He didn’t ignore the pain that we have caused Him… He loved us enough to send His Son to pay for it and to take our place and to bring us into His family. Because this is what our God did, we extend this love to others. Jesus continues:

We turn the other cheek. We give our shirt. We give to those who are in need and even to those who take our things. We give do to others what we would want them to do to us.

We live in a world that is very much an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a punch for a punch, whatever you do to me, I’m going to do to you. This is our world… but let’s think about this. If we lived this out, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, the whole world would be blind and toothless. Jesus seeks to spare us from that pain. This isn’t a call to be passive. To be stepped over. The point is this: Be ready to give and to give generously.

John MacArthur once said, “It’s hard to destroy a relationship if you continually forgive every offense.”

Don’t fight back evil with evil. The way that you defeat darkness isn’t by repaying darkness with darkness, it’s by shining a light to push back the darkness. Think of the ultimate display of light in the darkness - the cross. On the cross, Jesus lived out the Golden Rule. What would you want someone to do for you? To do whatever it takes to save you. This is what we are called to do as well. To receive insult, hatred, injustice and to not go low, but to take the high road. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s what we need. We forgive, because we have been forgiven!

(Birth Parent Story? I’ve wrestled with this one…)

Christian Love Runs Deeper than Convenience (32-34)

Back when I was in college, I had several friends tell loved a series called Black Mirror and they told me that I had to watch this one episode in particular. I didn’t know what to expect, but in this episode there was a young woman who had a nice job and house. Eventually, she is invited to be a part of a wedding of a friend that she grew up with. Sounds almost like a Hallmark story - until you look at the way their society functions. Everyone has a rating between 0-5 stars. Based on how you treated people around you, you’d get a rating. You’d do your job, and get a rating. You’d go to the store, and get a rating. Everyone smiles and says the nicest things, hoping to get a 5 star rating from people around them - and you especially did this with people who already had high ratings, because their review carried more weight! This sounds like something that is science fiction - instead of your personality, work ethic, character, and education, people value a number as the end all, be all in your life. But in many respects, this is what our world has turned into. If you’ve ever used Uber, you know that you leave a rating after your trip. Businesses receive ratings on Facebook and Google. And in a ratings first society, there is a temptation to do the right thing for the wrong reason. You provide a nice service, for the purpose of receiving a high score. You are kind to someone, hoping that they leave you a nice rating. Let’s call that what it is: fake and two faced.

Even if that seems too far fetched, examine the people that you most naturally give the benefit of the doubt to. The people you most naturally help and look out for. People who do the same for you. That’s natural to being a human. It’s natural for me to love people who love me - and in no way is that a bad thing! We live in such a polarized world where in some pockets you’re condemned for saying that you love your family, school, church, or country. That’s crazy! You and I cannot choose the place that we are born. We can’t choose when we are born. This is God’s providence that we are here right now, we are here for a reason in this season. We should thank the Lord that we are where we are at - in a church building, in Springfield, Missouri, in the United States of America where we can gather to worship Jesus without fear of being arrested by the government like so many other Christians around the world. It is good to give God thanks for that blessing. You can love something without worshiping something. I love Springfield. I was born here. I don’t worship it - but I thank God for it. Same with our country.

Here is where Jesus is going… unbelievers love Springfield, Missouri too. Unbelievers love the United States too. It is natural, it is human to love people who look like us and love us. It is human to do good to people who will do good to us. It is natural to lend to someone whenever you know they are going to give something back to you. This isn’t wrong - it’s just normal. So Jesus presses deeper!

If the standard here is that sinners, or people who aren’t in Christ, live this way, we can do better!

Anyone can serve when it fits their schedule. Forgive when there is no cost. Be kind when it’s reciprocated back to you. It’s easy to do good whenever you know that doing good will turn out good for you… but the point is that God doesn’t bless this behavior. There is no credit with the Lord or with the world by doing this. So, we are called to love even when loving costs something.

Galatians 6:9 CSB

9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

As you do what is good and go beyond what is natural to us as humans, there will be times when it will bite you. Hear this, though: Even if there is a cost, it’s always the right time to do the right thing.

1 Peter 4:19 CSB

19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

Trust in God and do what is good. We love others, not just when it is easy or convenient. We love others and trust the outcomes to the Lord!

(Maybe include story in Bible about this idea of demonstrating love despite the cost - Good Samaritan?)

Christian Love Reflects the Mercy of our Father (35-36)

Here Jesus lands the plane and helps us see how all of this connects. He repeats what He said at the beginning of this section - again, Love your enemies. Do what is right. Do good and expect nothing in return. Do you see the heart of God in this conclusion? I’m thankful that God didn’t just love people who previously loved Him. I’m thankful that God didn’t look through the corridor of time to see which people would be good enough and He reacted to our love. No, He simply is love. He is gracious. He is merciful. By nature! Up until now, Jesus has told us what to do… but He hasn’t told us why. Do you ever get frustrated when you’re told what to do, but you don’t know why? Even when it’s God, there are seasons when we know what we should do because the Bible tells us to… but there are times whenever we really want to know the why. We aren’t always given the “why” - friends. And we have to be content with that because we aren’t owed anything by God. But here, God gives us the why.

“Love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”

Y’all this is huge. Understand this this morning: We don’t do this in order to become God’s children… no, we love this way because we are God’s children! In other words, Jesus doesn’t say if you do this, God will become your Father… He says, Love like this because God is your Father.

Every major world religion is the first. Do this, Do that, Try harder, Be better… and if you do enough, then you’ll get to God. It’s like a ladder. Check this box, do this, move up a step, and if you just keep climbing then you’ll get to God through your actions. Christianity is the opposite! Christianity tells us the true story of a good God who came down the ladder. Who came not for perfect people. Strong people. Smart people. Popular people. No. Christianity tells us of the God who came from a crown of royalty to a crown of thorns in order to die for His enemies. This is the great mystery of the Gospel: The King who created us, is betrayed by us, rejected by us, also willingly dies for us. If you’re here this morning and this is your firs time in church, or you’re here and you haven’t fully grasped the reality of things, please get this. You might feel like a cosmic disappointment. You might feel like the whole world is stacked against you. The Bible says that before Christ, we are enemies with God. That we’re either for Him or against Him. Today you might be against Him. You might have a million problems and you blame God for each one. But let me tell you something remarkable: God loves His enemies. God loves them so much that He gives them a warning

Romans 2:4 CSB

4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

The God of the Universe has brought you here this morning. He has sustained you for years. He woke you up this morning. And led you here. He has been patient with you. He has been kind to you. And the reason for these things, as Romans 2:4 says, is to bring you to repentance. Christians, this is our story. We have been saved and we are saved to serve

John 13:34–35 CSB

34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Some look at this and then believe that to love one another requires us to forsake truth. To compromise our convictions. To affirm sin. To celebrate things the Bible condemns. This isn’t the case. God loves His enemies so much that He tells them the truth in love. This is our response. The most loving thing that you and I can do as believers is to love our enemies, to love those who live as enemies of God, to love those who far away from the Lord, genuinely love them, and tell them the truth. Get this: If all we do is love, and by love we affirm, congratulate, and celebrate, then people will die and spend eternity separated from God wishing that we loved them enough to tell them the truth.

You might not always like that person - but you are commanded to love them… because this is what God did for you. He didn’t abandon you whenever you were lost. He didn’t reject you, even though you had rejected Him. Alistair Begg once said, “God has showered his love upon us in order that we might shower his love upon those who seem the most unlikely and undeserving recipients of it.” Whenever we do this, we are promised that our reward is great and that we are children of God. We demonstrate that we have received God’s mercy by giving others God’s mercy. So, who is someone who has wronged you? Someone the world would say that you have every right to condemn. Hold a grudge. Strike them back. Who is that person for you that you simply have a hard time being around? For some it’s a family member. Others maybe a co-worker. Some maybe it’s someone within your circle of friends. Luke 6 is calling us to something higher than equality - it’s calling us to mercy.

We forgive because we’ve been forgiven.

We show mercy because we’ve been given mercy.

We refuse to retaliate and play the blame game, because Jesus didn’t blame us - He died for us.

Have you ever had someone that it’s just hard to forgive? I’ve shared that when I was born, I was born with cleft pallet and got severely malnourished, had several health issues, and was taken from my biological parents and placed in foster care before being adopted at just a few months old. Can I be honest? I struggled with that one for a long time. In 2020, Lindsey and I became parents as Gabriel was born on 8/28… and when Gabriel was born, the cord was tied around him, and he wasn’t crying. The nurses cleaned him up, got the cord untied, and in that moment of absolute chaos - I remembered this helpless feeling. I couldn’t help my wife. I couldn’t help my kid. I was a waste of space in a crowded and stressed out room. And I prayed that prayer that we sang last week, “Lord, I need you!” Eventually, all was fine. Lindsey and Gabriel were good and after some snuggles, I got to hold my boy. And in that moment, I thought to myself, “I’d do anything for this boy.” And it hit me like a freight train. 23 years earlier, in the same hospital, those people thought the same thing… even if it meant giving that child up for adoption and placing him with a family that could give him the care and help that he truly needed. I held on to bitterness, frustration, and hurt for years of my life towards those 2 people because I thought, “How could you leave a hungry baby to cry and then weeks later give that baby up and walk away for good?”

Then I became a parent. And it clicked. They were kids. Just like I didn’t know what I was doing whenever I was changing a diaper, they didn’t know either. They didn’t know what they were doing, but God did. And if God in heaven could forgive me of all the times I did things that were wrong. If God in heaven could forgive me of all the times I said things I wish I could take back. If God in heaven could forgive me of every time I went against His Word and His will. If God in heaven could love me - why am I allowing this thing, decades ago, to cause pain in my life? Voddie Baucham once said,“It has been said that holding on to unforgiveness is like drinking poison while hoping the other person dies.”

Holding on to pain like that for years and years is like allowing lava to build and build inside a volcano… eventually, it’s going to explode and cause harm for you and those around you. Jesus doesn’t want this for us… He wants us to lay that down. To not hate our enemies, but to love them. To do what is good. To extend mercy. Not because it’s easy, but because it glorifies God and is good for us. Forgiveness is powerful, church. Even when people wrong us. Even when people hurt us. Even when we have enemies who mean us harm… we can always choose to forgive and to love others as God has forgiven and loved us, whenever we were His enemies.

So, who is your enemy? Who has cursed you? Who has hated you? Who has mistreated you? You know that person… you know those people. The world says to cancel them. Slander them. Hate them. Jesus says to love them. You’ll never come across a person that God doesn’t love and that Jesus didn’t die for. But God, rich in mercy, because of His great love for us made us alive with Christ, we are saved by grace! The cross is the proof that this is possible. That God’s mercy is more than our sin. That God’s grace is greater than our failures. Today, if you’re far away from the Lord, understand that He is loving and that He gives mercy to broken people like you and me. Today, come home to Jesus. And if you know Jesus, ask yourself: Am I loving others like Jesus?