“Hate to Love” is the next in our series. The other reflections we’ve studied so far as Fear to Hope, Anger to Gratitude, and Sadness to Joy.

Hate is the opposite to love. That’s why it is important to understand hate, which will enable us to better work on ourselves.

Here’s how most dictionaries define hate:

Hate is an intense hostility and aversion, which usually derives from fear, anger, or any sense of hurt.

So, there you see the triggers of hate: fear, anger, hurt, etc.

Hate does not directly have to do with other people. Hate has to do with your inner being.

In other words,

Hate is a reaction to and distraction from some form of inner pain (suffering). It is a temporary reprieve from inner suffering. (Allison Abrahams)

With what I’ve laid out above, we can agree that, hate, like all the other emotions is something we can conquer and replace it with love.

Read Matthew 5: 43-45,

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

 

Be a good neighbor and Love your neighbor

 

 

What you read in Matthew 5 (part of the sermon on the mount, which covers chapters 5 through 7) is about the concept of who is our neighbor, as well as what a good neighbor means.

[bctt tweet=”A neighbor is a person near you, irrespective of who he or she is!” username=””]

So, any human being, whether they live next door or the stranger you encounter at your local store, is a neighbor.

Also, whether they are good or evil, the person (you know or don’t know), will always be a neighbor, according to Scripture.

God gave the law to the Israelites through Moses, and Jesus always quoted Moses and other scriptures from the Old Testament.

Here in Matthew 5, specifically verses 43-45, he’s referring to Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21.

[bctt tweet=”Instead of using the law of life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, Jesus says to the crowd, as well as to you and me, to love our enemies.” username=””]

 

 

Loving all people comes out of knowing God

 

 

Because of sin, we, human beings, have lost the ability to love all people. To regain it we need to know God.

[bctt tweet=”The knowledge of God doesn’t have to do only with information, but transformation resulting from our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.” username=””]

Read 1 John 4:8,

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Loving people comes out of knowing God. And, we know God, His love rules over our heart, mind, and spirit.

Therefore, all what we do, think, and say derives from a heart full of God’s love.

God’s love empowers us to love. And, the reason is because of the following:

• • • We are patient.
    • We are kind.
    • We don’t envy.
    • We are not arrogant or don’t boast.
    • We don’t dishonor others.
    • We aren’t self-seeking.
    • We don’t get easily angry.
    • We keep no record of wrongs.
    • We don’t delight in evil but rejoice with the truth.
    • We always protect.
    • We always trust.
    • We always hope for the best in people.
    • We always persevere in doing good. Based on 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. 

More importantly, love never ends (1 Corinthians 13: 9). What that means is the way you love others doesn’t have to change.

Love in “deed” and “truth.” It is easier to talk about love than to practice it. I guess you will agree with me 100% on that! Read 1 John 3: 18.

Love covers all offenses. Read Proverbs 10: 12 and 1 Peter 4: 8. Just as I said it above (see 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8), with God’s love in us, we’ll learn to see the good in people.

By doing so, we become then able to love our brothers and sisters, even the ones we don’t know (1 John 4: 20).

When you think of “knowing God,” a scripture that comes to mind is Galatians 2: 20,

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

To know God means to let Christ live in you. And, when you know God and have Christ live in you, you’ll love people.

Last, love fulfills God’s commandments. Yes, that’s what Christ, himself, said to the people then, just as he’s saying the same to us today,

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22: 36-39. 

[bctt tweet=”Yes, it’s that simple: love God and your neighbor as yourself. That’s the whole Bible. That’s all what God expects from all of us. That’s how we should live our lives. That’s how we choose love instead of hate. ” username=””]

 

 

Bringing it together

 

Loving instead of hating others is a choice you and I need to make every day. The ability to do so resides in and resides from our personal relationship with Christ. Start with the greatest commandment of all: love God with all your heart, mind, spirit and strength. That’s the source of our ability to love each other.