"as I have loved you"

@kevin-eleven said
How exactly did Jesus "love" the people to whom he said that?

He disrupted their lives with his egocentric demands, and many of them ended up persecuted and killed because of "Him".

Then there was poor Judas, who killed himself after being used as a pawn in the omniciently pre-planned crucifixion and resurrection storyline.

What a great and pitying and monstrou ...[text shortened]... permeated with such sickness and psychosis that I believe it is an obstruction rather than a guide.

The love of God is difficult to grasp. God not only loves us but knows us exactly as we are; there are no pretenses between God and us, He sees us as we are without anything we can do to make us appear better to Him, or more appealing to Him, more acceptable to Him, we can bring nothing to Him that would buy His favor, or earn His favor.

He is Sovereign, unchanging, true, good, just, faithful, no shadow of turning in Him, no hidden darkness. Everything He does and says is always done and said in such ways that are in total harmony with His nature at all times, He does nothing that makes Him less than, He can do nothing that makes Him better. When prophets were confronted with the presence of God, they were undone, crying out how unworthy they were; their lives were revealed for what they were next to Him.

The love we see in Jesus is that He knowing who we are, what we are, in total control of Himself gave His life away for sinners, not for the righteous, but the unrighteous who could do nothing on their own to make themselves just before God. He became sin who knew no sin so that we could be redeemed from the guilt of our sins. Those He touched He asked to love others as He had loved them; by laying down His life, we are to lay down our lives for those around us. We can have no preferences in who we care for; He died for the ungodly, His grace extends to in such a way it redeems us totally from our just condemnation by being our salvation, our righteousness in God through Christ.

So those who abuse us we are to love because He loved those who abused Him, those who condemn us we are to love because He loved those who condemned Him. He didn't wait till we were ready to accept Him, He moved to us, calling us, caring for us, laying down His life for us. So because of the great love given to us, we are to, in turn, show this love to everyone around us, those we find pleasing and those we do not. With full knowledge of our unworthiness, He gave Himself for us, so how could we do anything less than that for those around us?

He entered into humanity to share the trials we face in our lives, to take part in humanity so we could be redeemed in Him. Everything about what He did He did for us, it is His nature, we were made in His image and look at how we have perverted that in how we act towards one another. His goodness is what gives me hope not my ability to get it right.

@kellyjay said
The love of God is difficult to grasp. God not only loves us but knows us exactly as we are; there are no pretenses between God and us, He sees us as we are without anything we can do to make us appear better to Him, or more appealing to Him, more acceptable to Him, we can bring nothing to Him that would buy His favor, or earn His favor.

He is Sovereign, unchanging, true, ...[text shortened]... n how we act towards one another. His goodness is what gives me hope not my ability to get it right.

Excellent post, KellyJay