Jude instructs you to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). At first glance, it sounds like staying in God’s love is up to you. God’s love is not like a room that you can walk in and out of, or a coat that you can take off and put on again a la “He loves me, He loves me not.” That would be oppressive and contrary to His steadfast love. Keeping yourself is the task of custody like the stewardship of exercising and guarding your heart and mind. The love of God is the element in which you do this – that does not change.
Dear chosen ones, holy and beloved – God’s love for you is not dependent on your actions. You cannot make Him love you any more or any less! Your actions, however, can flow out of experiencing God’s love. Your life is built up and nurtured as you are occupied with God’s love in your walk with Him. Jesus said the same thing using himself as an example; “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:9–10). Do you see the reciprocity? You are in His love. If you keep your attitudes and affections occupied by His love, you will love what He loves and do what He loves.
How does this help you love your neighbor in the trending ideology that Jesus’ command to love is manifested in empathy and understanding, then that progresses to tolerance, then acceptance, and finally, affirmation. This is a way that Christians are being sucked into the world’s mold. It is subtle and trending at alarming rates. There is no question that followers of Jesus are called to be kind and compassionate. Clearly you do not want to cast a shadow on the gospel by being condemning and uncompassionate. But if you are to love as Jesus commanded, you must be clear on what that love is.
Jesus calls you to love others as He loves you. He loved you by investing (sacrificing) Himself for your good – your remedy. His love was because of God’s holiness and the Father’s desire to reconcile you. But without Christ’s righteousness, you cannot be justified before holy God. One thing we learn from Christ’s love is that it can never be divorced from righteousness. His love purposes to move you toward righteousness. To move you in the path of righteousness is to re-order your love, because as Augustine aptly pointed out, all sin is dis-ordered love. In other words, the sin that destroys you by separating you from God is the result of loving the wrong thing. It is wrong because it is contrary to God’s perfect character and His good design and purpose for you. It is not God’s love to love something that God hates. God hates what is destructive to the objects of His love.
Thomas Acquinas helps to understand the nuance of Christ-like love (agape), which is not mere empathy and affirmation, but to “will the good of the other.” Jesus loved you by investing Himself in you – totally! Your good is to be reconciled to God which puts you on the path of righteousness. Jesus did not love you just to forgive you and leave you in your sinfulness. He is in the new creation business. It is His will and purpose to transform you into His image.
That being true, empathy toward or affirming another’s behavior which God calls sinful (contrary to His character and purpose) can never be an act of love. Communicating truth is the most loving and kind thing you can do. But be careful not to create a false dichotomy here. Condemning another for their sin is not the only other option. Condemnation is not your prerogative, but discernment is your calling. To love as Jesus loved is first, to recognize that one needs to be reconciled to God. This may be evident in your discernment of their godless worldview and behavior. Secondly, to love as Jesus loved is to invest yourself in them for their good. This act of the will toward another is grounded in your love for God – what was pointed out earlier – If you keep your attitudes and affections occupied by His love, you will love and do what He loves – in particular toward your fellow human who bears God’s image