No Matter What

My dog loves me no matter what I do. When I considered beginning with that statement, I first thought I would set it off in quotations because it’s been said by a number of people. However, this is not just a quote of a well-known saying, but in my case, it’s true. My dog really does love me no matter what. And I’m sure if she were capable, she would appreciate me mentioning her in this article. Good girl, Pepper!

I know this is a silly way to make the point, but it does make it. The love that Christians are commanded to have for their fellowman is just as unqualified as the love my dog Pepper has for me. The love I am to have for the lost, the brotherhood, my enemies, et al, is not dependent upon whether or not they deserve it. It does not matter what they do, I am expected by God Himself to love them. Here is the encouraging part…your heavenly Father and His people (Christians) love you, too. God intends for you to be loved no matter what.

Now, we need to explain what we mean. We do not mean that no matter what you do, God and the Christians around you are supposed to just smile and say, “That’s OK. We love you. Don’t worry about this mistake or that sin!” Loving someone the way the Bible commands is not excusing sinful behavior. The apostle Paul loved the apostle Peter enough to oppose him “to his face, because he stood condemned” (Galatians 2:11). The way many people think about love, they would say that Paul loved Peter, but suspended his love just long enough to reprove him. That is not love, though. Love is what caused Paul to oppose Peter. He did not want Peter to lose his soul.

This whole concept may be confusing to some, but only because we have allowed our culture to define love for us. Christian love (the love commanded in Scripture) is a love that seeks the highest good of its object. Sometimes the highest good for someone is very uncomfortable.

God loved you (and me) enough to let His own Son die on the cross so that we might have hope of eternal life (John 3:16). Eternal life is not automatic. We have a responsibility to obey His commands. However, He made that offer knowing that the very people He was offering to save would kill His Son. That is love (1 John 4:10).

What about the love we’re supposed to have? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives a great description of Christian love. One of the things Paul says love does not do is “take into account a wrong suffered” (verse 5). That means that true Christian love does not depend on whether or not someone did something wrong to you. You love them anyway. It also means that there are Christians who love you in that same way…no matter what! It might be embarrassing some day when a Christian friend asks you to stop some sinful behavior, or encourages you to do a better job living the Christian life or “opposes you to your face,” but understand that it is only happening because of a “no matter what” kind of love. That is how much God loves you and it is how much I love you, too.