Love

Matthew 5:43 (NIV)

But I tell you, love your enemies.

Whom should Christians love? Obviously, our enemies and neighbors. But are we also called to love Satan and the demons? How about the Pharisees who have eternally blasphemed against the Holy Spirit? Should we have warm, fuzzy feelings towards them? Then how about your self-centered, narcissistic, self-absorbed friends or neighbors who are lovers of themselves and not of God or anyone else? Should we love them? Does the Lord Jesus love Satan? No, He came to destroy the works of Satan and will burn the demon in hell eternally. Did the Lord Jesus love the Pharisees when He judged them to be blasphemers for calling Him Beelzebub? No, He said they will never be forgiven either in this age or the age to come. What about the self-loving, boastful, proud, loud, and self-absorbed "neighbors" who not only do no good but actively harm those around them? Does Jesus love them? No, because the Apostles condemn them and told us to have nothing to do with them, not to keep suffering under them.

The love of God is not cheap, nor is it loose. It was bought at a price: the price of the death of an innocent Man.