Love sometimes hurts.

Love.

It is one of the most commonly used words, yet one of the most misused and powerful.

Love: The attribute God Himself uses to define His very nature, has now been distorted by some into an excuse for endorsing sin.

What a shame!

It is not a rare occurrence to hear the word ‘love’ being quoted as a mouth-stopper to Christians who may oppose sin, that ‘love covers a multitude of sins’ or ‘we must love people’. But what really is love? What would love prompt us to do?

In this increasingly sinful world, believe it or not, Christians who are enraged because of rampant sin are not reacting so out of hatred, but out of love. May sound strange, but it is true.

You see, love means selflessness. As Jesus said, the highest love there is, is to give up one’s life for another person. Love therefore means caring about someone so much that you are willing to warn them when they are in danger, not patting them on the shoulder just because they may get pleasure from their lifestyle – especially when their lifestyle will have eternal implications- even if you are ridiculed for doing so.

Sin is destructive. It is like a cancer, a poisonous trap that lurks subtely, but in the end, it leads to death, yet so many take sin so lightly. Our modern society tends to downplay the seriousness of sin, or even deny the existence of absolute sin. As Christians, however, when we build a close relationship with God, we begin to see more and more what sin really does to a person. Sin is a trap. To get a more precise view of the serious consequences of sin, think about the extent God went to let mankind get a chance to be saved from its effects. Jesus, God’s Divine sinless Son, had to endure excruciating suffering: scourging, spitting and mocking, 6 inch nails being pierced through His hands and feet, prickly thorns on His head – Jesus had to go through unimaginable suffering with real pain to save us from SIN! That is love.

When one continues in sin, the more they get entangled into a trap that separates them from God. Sin equals death, and whatever can be done to discourage someone who is on a road to death to turn from the wrong way and to realize he or she is doing wrong, it must be done; even if it may mean hurting one’s feelings. So next time you view this word ‘love’, think more deeply about its meaning. Love does not necessarily involve the cliché concept of laughter and patting on the back; at times love requires a little jolting into reality that their current path is destructive.

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)