There are two fires that a man can hold in his heart. One will often burn the other out, and as a man on fire, light other men on fire. The fires of love and hate are real, and I’ll prove they exist first without you having to even believe in anything spiritual. Even pastors should pay attention because this is how we first get the world’s attention by using the wisdom of this world to understand the wisdom of the spirit world and the world to come. Even Jesus Christ himself didn’t want to talk so much about the things of Heaven, for fewer people would believe Him.
“You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven?”
John 3:12 (GNT)
So let’s look at a core concept of Christianity, God, and holiness that manifests itself in a visible manifestation of the truly invisible entities of love and hate. If someone calls you a jerk and pushes you, then verbally assaults you for a while, you won’t like it. If you punch him, he isn’t going to like you more. He’ll very likely hate you more and attack you, so both of you probably get hurt. If he has friends, he may tell you about what you did to him, and they may hate you and want to fight you too. If you have friends, you might tell them about him, and they might hate him. In the inner city, there are gangs for offense and gangs for defense. A casual schoolyard fight often escalates to a later afternoon firefight where murder happens. We can’t let this happen anymore. If everyone is harming each other, this is hell on Earth and has happened in wars, abductions, prison camps, slavery, and dictatorships. Even if you don’t believe hell is the spiritual consequence of hate, you can easily see it is the logical consequence even if happening on Earth. Let’s fight for the fires of love and not the fires of hate.
If you think of Jesus and fight against your human instincts to hate back when hated, you won’t necessarily make people love you by being kind back. However, you certainly aren’t as likely to escalate hate as if you attacked them. They might not be won over to love, but their fires of hate will rage a bit less than they would if you did evil for evil. This lesser fire of hate might not provoke others and spread less. And honestly, they might realize they were in the wrong and quench their fire of hatred and replace it with a blaze of love. Many would-be friendships start on the wrong foot, then stubbornness and grudges keep it going that way. Give everyone a chance, fan the fires of love by not hating back in the face of hate.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ 44 But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may become the children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. 46 Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! 47 And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! 48 You must be perfect—just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43 (GNT)
When hate is absent, it is far easier to love. For the grand majority of callings to Jesus: Our literal goals in life for service should be to get by, and as we get our head above water, start lifting others up. If you get a job, work and help people’s finances struggling or hold BBQ for those without great means. Open doors for people, let them in front of you in life, and small talk anyone down. Maybe mow their grass, offer tech support for their computer, or fix their car. Make sure your neighbor is getting by, for this is life. Life is not trying to get what your neighbor has, for this breaks one of the Ten Commandments. Life is about trying to help your neighbor get enough to get by, then help other neighbors.
“Love your neighbor.” -Jesus Christ.
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors—for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be paid for what you did. 13 When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; 14 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death.”
Luke 14:12 (GNT)
So we know love and hate are real. We should love and not hate. The fires you burn your community in will often burn you back. Spread hate, and hell, it will likely get to you. Spread love and do as it is in the Kingdom of Heaven, then love and Heaven will probably be visiting you, God will take joy in you, and Jesus will call you friend. There is a spiritual component of love and hate. There is a spiritual component to everything, and when you are reborn into the coming kingdom of Zion, The Kingdom of Love, The Kingdom of God, your body will reflect who you truly are. Don’t be ugly then by being greedy now. Don’t be shameful then by being ashamed of Jesus. Now is the time to show the world your nobility, your care, your beauty. This fallen world will pass away like a folded up scroll, so giving up that which cannot last to gain far greater things is not foolishness but of great wisdom. If you get your head above water, help everyone you can. You don’t have to cure diseases to make a significant impact for the cause of good. If you love right and fan the flames of love that Jesus started, those flames of love and prayer can cure more diseases than your research. Love matters more than anything, for God is Love. And Jesus is the son of love. I love Jesus! Jesus is LORD!
This spreads the Good News of the God of Love. Most people trip over the active work to get out and distribute their goods and time and help as many people locally as they can globally. If we do this, the fires of love will swell! This is what God wants.
The Lord spoke to me. 46 “Mortal man,” he said, “look toward the south. Speak against the south and prophesy against the forest of the south. 47 Tell the southern forest to hear what the Sovereign Lord is saying: Look! I am starting a fire, and it will burn up every tree in you, whether green or dry. Nothing will be able to put it out. It will spread from south to north, and everyone will feel the heat of the flames. 48 They will all see that I, the Lord, set it on fire and that no one can put it out.” 49 But I protested, “Sovereign Lord, don’t make me do it! Everyone is already complaining that I always speak in riddles.”
Ezekiel 20:45 (GNT)
“I came to set the Earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled!”
Luke 12:49 (GNT)
With all the conquering and subduing their fellow man by force the Romans did, they would have fast taken over the world. Jesus came on Earth to tell them hateful domineering of your fellow man is wrong. Jesus started a small fire of love that spread to this day. It takes a long time for love to conquer hate. So if someone says, “Everything tried has failed.” Remember, love is still burning. Let’s stoke the fire and be cool to our neighbors, helping them in life.