Today’s
focus will be on the Believer’s Love.
This love is not driven by emotions that make us “feel” good, warm and
fuzzy, tingling all over because of a specific person (man, woman, child,
etc.), no this love has God as its primary object, and expresses itself first
of all in absolute obedience to His commandments.
·
Jesus
replied, “All who love me
will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our
home with each of them. John 14:23 (NLT)
·
When
you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s
commandments and remain in his love.
John 15:10 (NLT)
·
But
those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how
we know we are living in him. 1 John 2:5
(NLT)
·
Loving
God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not
burdensome. 1 John 5:3 (NLT)
o
It is only burdensome when you
are trying to “do you” and God at the same time
·
This
is love that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment,
that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. 2 John 1:6
(NKJV)
Love:
· Seeks the
welfare of all: We should help others do what is right and
build them up in the Lord Rom 15:2 (NLT)
· Works no ill to
any: Owe nothing to
anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your
neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say,
“You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You
must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one
commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so
love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. Romans 13:8-10 (NLT);
· Love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and
especially toward them that are of the household of the faith,' Galatians
6:10 (NLT).
Obviously
loving those who have mistreated you does not come natural, it is something
that we have to do intentionally, like getting dressed every day. We decide what we are going to wear and then
we put it on. But there is another set
of clothing that is also available for us to choose from: Since God chose you to be the holy people he
loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who
offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all
together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14-16 (NLT).
We
can walk around butt naked every day and take the chance of being exposed to
the elements and/or being locked up for indecent exposure, but we make a
conscious decision to put on our underwear, socks, pants, shorts, skirt, dress,
shirt and accessories. Some of us put
too much thought in the choices we make about our clothing and it makes us late
every day but that’s another subject. Putting
on our clothes every day is automatic, it’s second nature and some of us change
clothes more than twice a day based on the type of work we do or the activities
of the day. But how many of us put on
our spiritual clothes -- tenderhearted
mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience but most of all love? When we intentionally put on our spiritual
clothes, we cover the nakedness of anger, hatred, un-forgiveness, selfishness,
judgment, impatience, road rage, etc. Just
as we can be locked up by law enforcement for indecent exposure for not wearing
our clothes, we can be locked up (in our minds) for indecent exposure,
constantly exposing our inappropriate and ungodly behavior to the world who in
turn criticize and mock us as hypocrites (fake, phony “Christians”) and
rightfully so. However, when those
negative emotions and/or behaviors are hidden and in check by our spiritual
clothes our spiritual armor fits better -- Stand
your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s
righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace
that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the
shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17 (NLT)
In
His Eternal Love
Tan
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