I'm not sure why, but I think God is still teaching me about love. I just can't seem to meditate on anything else right now. I have been watching and thinking and praying about it, and God continues to reveal things to me that I still don't fully understand. I hope that by writing it down here, God will help me grasp all that he is teaching me.
My last post was about love, but this one will be a little different. I want to talk a little about a scripture God has been bringing me back to, "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold," - Matthew 24:12. A friend, a few months ago, mentioned the an important word in the text of this verse, "most." What a scary thought, to think that the love of MOST will grow cold. Not a few, but most. Such a change, surely can only occur subtly. I mean, who wants to be cold-hearted? We aren't exactly lining up to get that trait. No, this type of societal heart change will slither its way into our attitudes and mindsets as slowly and slyly as possible. The question is, "how can we tell if our love is growing cold?" The answer, by knowing what love is and what it looks like.
Two additional scriptures, God has been puting on my heart, carry so much weight when it comes to what love looks like. The first, "[love] is not rude, [love] is not self-seeking, [love] is not easily angered, [love] keeps no record of wrongs." - 1 Corinthians 13:5. The part I feel God most wants us to comprehend is that true love doesn't keep a tally of wrongs. If you really love someone, why remember their faults. Aren't we so thankful that God chooses not to remember ours? This is such a great measure of our love for people. Ask yourself, "do I often choose to remember or often bring up someone's wrongs?" Are we loving people or condemning them when we bring up times in the past when they have fallen short or made the wrong choice? The real question to ask ourselves is, "am I focusing/exposing someone else's wrongs to hide or minimize my own?" True love doesn't compare charts, it doesn't put down, it doesn't brag -- remind you of another scripture about love? This chapter in 1 Corinthians is more than just a passage that should be read at a wedding, and means more than just the love shared in a marriage. Jesus told us the most important commandment was to love. This scripture applies to our attitude toward everyone we come into contact with, including family, friends, coworkers, classmates, etc. Our love is the testimony of our faith.
The other scripture is, "there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." - 1 John 4:18. I heard a sermon once about faith. The man who was delivering it made the comment that many people think that doubt is the opposite (the side that is against) of faith. He went on to say that the real opposite was fear. He said the faith is securely trusting God's word, doubt is the absence of trust, but that fear was trusting or believing the opposite of God's truth. If we love people the way God loves people, then our desire for their life is to be blessed in accordance with God's will. If we love them, our utmost desire should be to save them from Hell, and see them live and abundant God-filled life. The only way to do this is through perfect love. If we learn to love people by showing them love the God had in mind, then that love casts out fear. It casts out the mistrust in our hearts towards God's amazing plan for our lives. Love will not condemn your brother, but will bring healing and strength to him.
God's desire for us is to love. We were created in his image with the wonderful capacity to love one another. God is love, and as he is in us, so are we in him. If we dwell in love, we dwell in righteousness. May our words, deeds, and intentions always be in alignment with the will of God.
For additional commentary on Love, please check out my 2 part series on Desire.
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