Matthew 5:46 -- On Loving Others

"For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?"
Matthew 5:46


This reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is betrayed by his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman). He knows about it, and is still helping her, and she asks him why. He says "Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?" ... I like that because it hints at that unconditional love that we rarely see in life from anyone but God, though parents and some other good relationships sometimes reflect aspects of that as well. As we learn to love better, we are able to move beyond only reflecting love back to others, and are able to be the beacon of love ourselves, whether or not that love is returned.

Loving people who don't love us back can be hard and draining work. Treating people kindly when they are unkind is difficult (small reminder here that God doesn't require us to endure abusive relationships in order to prove our love, however). God doesn't ask us to love our enemies to torture us, but rather because he is trying to teach us and them what real love is. I think Satan twists the idea of love so that we often end up promoting/believing in false ideals of love, where love is something that just happens that we can't choose, or else watered down and disposable versions of love where we only love if we are getting something out of the relationship, manipulating others to prove their love, or kicking them to the curb and fitting another person into a vacant position like an interchangeable part.

The way that God loves us, and the true nature of love, are often beyond what we can imagine or emulate, but God has told us that if we "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart" that he will fill us with this kind of love (Moroni 7:48). From there, we will be able to share that with others and learn better how to love the way that God does. Today, let's work on learning to love better from God, and how to love people even when they don't return the feeling.