Love, What Is Your Motive?

Love to and of both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament.  Apostle Paul, a former terrorist of Christians, was transformed by God’s unconditional love and repositioned to his rightful place as a scholar, teacher, evangelist and prolific writer.  In his letter of correction (inspired by God) to the Corinthian Church, the entire 13^th chapter is devoted to love.  He says love is the greatest of the graces of the Christian life, greater than speaking with tongues, the gift of prophecy or the possession of a faith of superior excellence; for without love all these gifts and graces, desirable and useful as they are in themselves, are as nothing, certainly of no permanent value in the sight of God. Jesus said:  In Mark 12:29-31 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  No other commandment is greater than these. (NLT).   Neither Paul nor Jesus underestimates the faith from which all the graces proceed, for this grace is recognized as fundamental in all God's dealings with man and man's dealings with God but both alike count that faith as but idle and worthless belief that does not manifest itself in love to both God and man. As love is the highest expression of God and His relation to mankind, so it must be the highest expression of man's relation to his Maker and to his fellow-man

Most people know there are 10 commandments, but Jesus clearly states the most important commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.  The second bombshell is that he ranks the commandments and says No other commandment is greater than these.  That’s a very radical statement to make to Jewish scholars and people who had practiced the Law all of their lives.  In fact for them, it sounds like an insult because they had never heard anyone rank the commandments because they were supposed to keep them all.  But it dawned on me that if we love God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength, we won’t:

·       Worship other gods; bow down to any god other than God the Father; use his name in vain, etc.

And, if you love your neighbor as yourself, we won’t:

·       Dishonor your parents, steal, kill, lie, covet (yearn, desire, crave, insatiably wish for) your neighbors wife, property, salary, lifestyle, etc.; or commit adultery (filthy nasty sex outside of marriage with someone else’s spouse)

Victory Nugget:  If you have done any of the above, God has forgiven you, so release, let it go and forgive yourself.  If you are still doing any of the above, you can decide today to stop, but not by yourself, God will help you if you just take the initial step of asking Him to forgive you.

OK, Tania, but I don’t even know my neighbors, I rarely see them.  Sweetie, I am not just talking about the person who lives in your building, next door or across the street.  Your neighbor is:

(Webster) a person who lives near another; a person or thing that is near another (not just near your residence); one's fellow human being; a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward his or her fellow humans -- to be a neighbor to someone in distress; used as a term of address, especially as a friendly greeting to a stranger.

Our fundamental challenge is a completely distorted understanding of love and/or lack of love altogether, in and out of the church.  It is extremely disheartening to see the discord, division, jealousy, envy, sabotage, downright hatred among people that profess to be saved and spirit filled.  People who carry big bibles, wear Jesus ties, scarves, earrings, necklaces and t-shirts who proudly display Jesus bumper stickers.  The folks who can cut you so quickly with their words that you won’t realize you’re bleeding until someone points it out to you.  I have often wondered what in the world are they thinking.  What is the point faithfully attending worship services, bible class, committee meetings, etc. with that type of venom in their heart?  What is their motive? 

When you help a friend or total stranger, what is your motive?

When you visit someone who is ill, what is your motive?

When you volunteer to help with a project (in or out of church), what is your motive?

When you give money or things to someone in need, what is your motive?

When you listen to a friend pour out their heart to you, what is your motive?

When you give someone a gift, what is your motive?

When you give yourself away, what is your motive?

When you give someone a ride, what is your motive?

When you pay for someone’s meal, what is your motive?

When you volunteer to pray, what is your motive?

When you volunteer to lead a bible study, support group, etc. what is your motive?

If you’re not sure, now is a good time to get an examination.  Stand in front of the mirror, turn the search light on by looking straight into your eyes and ask yourself why you do what you do?  If your answer is because of fear, validation, self-approval, attention, obligation, jealousy, you’re not sure, it’s time to dig deeper, ask God for forgiveness (if applicable) and tell him you need His help to do what’s right, which is to “serve with love”.  Anything else is cute, but it’s a waste of time.

Let’s look at Mark 12:31 again: …Love your neighbor as yourself … There is an exception to this rule, and this is coming from me, it’s not in the scriptures.  Some people “hate” themselves and it is a very very strong possibility that you are who I am talking about.  Please hear my heart when I say that I Love You.  Whoever you are, whatever you have done, I love you.  You are exempt from this commandment until you can be loved back to wholeness, restoration and balance.  It may not be easy and it’s going to take a lot of work on your part, but when you come out of it and learn to love yourself in a “balanced way” you will be a whole person who can reach back and show others how to love themselves.  You cannot give up now.  You are worth the fight, yes you are, do you know why?  Because you were created by God in his image no matter what the circumstances of your birth or childhood.  Every single thing that you have been through can be turned around so that God receives the glory and honor because he kept you, gave you the will to put one foot in front of the other in spite of all of the things you have faced.  It may not feel like it right now, but you’re a survivor and there are people waiting to hear how you made it through because it will give them hope they can only get from someone who has walked in their shoes.  They are waiting with baited breath to hear your story and to be loved out of the self-hatred by someone just like you.  

I’m out of time, we’ll pick it up tomorrow

In His Endless Love

Tania