here was a time when I did everything I could to show my love to a certain person. But it seemed that every time I reached out to love, the person slapped me back with criticism and harsh treatment. This went on for months. One day I was fed up.

I complained to God. “I have had it. Now You are going to have to talk to me about this. Every time I show Your love to this person, I get anger thrown back in my face!” The Lord began to speak to me. “John, you need to develop faith in the love of God!”

“What do You mean?” I asked.

“He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,” He explained, “but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (see Galatians 6:8-9). You need to realize that when you sow the love of God, you will reap the love of God. You need to develop faith in this spiritual law-even though you may not harvest it from the field in which you sowed, or as quickly as you would like.

The Lord continued. “In My greatest hour of need, My closest friends deserted Me. Judas betrayed Me, Peter denied Me and the rest fled for their lives. Only John followed from afar. I had cared for them for over three years, feeding them and teaching them. Yet as I died for the sins of the world, I forgave. I released all of them-from My friends who had deserted Me to the Roman guard who had crucified Me. They didn’t ask for forgiveness, yet I freely gave it. I had faith in the Father’s love.

“I knew that because I had sown love I would reap love from many sons and daughters of the kingdom. Because of My sacrifice of love, they would love Me.

“I said to `love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

“`For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”‘ (Matt. 5:44-47).

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

I realized that the love I was giving was being sown to the Spirit, and eventually I would reap those seeds of love. I didn’t know from where, but I knew the harvest would come. No longer did I see it as a failure when love wasn’t returned from the person I was giving it to. It freed me to love that person even more!

If more Christians recognized this, they wouldn’t give up and become offended. Usually this is not the type of love we walk in. We walk in a selfish love that is easily disappointed when our expectations are not met.

If I have expectations about certain persons, those people can let me down. They will disappoint me to the degree that they fall short of my expectations. But if I have no expectations about someone, anything given is a blessing and not something owed. We set ourselves up for offense when we require certain behaviors from those with whom we have relationships. The more we expect, the greater the potential offense.

Bevere, John. The Bait of Satan. Lake Mary, Florida, Charisma House, 1997, p. 10-12 www.charismahouse.com