What is Love?
What
we need to first look at is how love is defined by society, or what I
call the world. The world defines love as a passion or lust, when
they see an extremely appealing person that they desire; they say "I
love". Then they also have a love when they admire the other
person and enjoy their company, they are quite fond of the other.
Then the world has what they call "true love", this is when
they have the first two types of love, the desires and emotions and
feel that they will never again desire or even wish that they will
want to be with anyone else again. However, as can be seen from the
high number of divorces that this "true love" as with other
types of love, they are not a true and lasting love. These types of
love are an emotional love, they are not the pure love that we are
commanded to have by God's Word. The closest the world can come to
the pure love that the Bible tells us to have is the love most
mothers have for their child. As close as this type of love comes,
it is still emotional love and light years away from being the "true
love" we are commanded to have by God’s
Word.
As
we look to God’s
Word, we see that the love we are to have is not something He
recommends or suggests for us to have or give. The love He has for
us to give is a love we have been commanded to do. If we are
commanded, then we can see that this pure love we are to love with
and show must be an action that we MUST
do. It is something
we can learn to do. It is a change in our life, in our way of
thinking, one that will affect our total being, our fundamental
nature of our entire life, how we act, speak, and respond to
situations around us. God has given us a COMMAND,
an instruction that MUST
be obeyed, a
mandate. If the love God COMMANDED
us to have was an emotional love as the world really sees the
definition, then we would never be able to do as commanded, as we
would not be able to love at all times as instructed, but only as we
felt like.
Without
pure love, love as defined by God's Word, we can have no relationship
with God. Without His pure love in its fullest meaning, we are going
to find ourselves lost in this world of sin.
"Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love
your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than
these."
It
is our love for God that is to be placed first and foremost in our
priorities in our walk with God. The second priority before anything
else is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. OK, well who are
our neighbors? Let’s look at the parable of the Good Samaritan,
you can find it in "LUKE
10:29-37".
What it basically says here, is that our neighbor is anyone we come
into contact with. So now we may say, "No Problem," but
remember that the pure love must be from our hearts, we must not hold
back from God or others this great love we are to give. This pure
love we are commanded to give is unconditional love that is a love
that has no conditions on it. It is a love that never stops or
decreases, or even wavers. We are told to love our brothers, and we
are told what many will find the hardest love of all, that is to love
our enemies. Wow! This pure love that we are commanded to give is
not as easy as we may at first perceived once we are fulfilling the
command to love.
"But
I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
the unrighteous.”
So,
what is love? This pure love, which so many Christians do not fully
understand or have a complete grasp of. We must turn to Scripture,
God's Word, and see how love is defined. What I find we should look
at is the example of Jesus’ life, the love He showed to everyone He
came into contact with
throughout His entire ministry here on earth, and then we also turn
to the following breakdown of love from
the Bible:
"Love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there
are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will
be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
We
can see from this passage of Scripture that we find no mention of a
love that is of the emotional type. Emotions come and go, depending
on how we may feel at any particular time. This pure love that we
are commanded by God to have is an action that we MUST
do. So let me ask
you this: Where are you going to get your definition of love from,
God’s
Word? Or this world? Who do you serve this day?
"Dear
friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone
who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love
does not know God, because God is love."
"And
He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must
also love his brother."
Who
is our brother? Our brother in different places in Scripture refers
to other believers who are following Christ, as we should be, and it
also refers to our brothers as any member of the human race. So, if
we claim to love God, we will love His pure love to ALL
our brothers. This pure love is the same love that Jesus lived as
our example. Many say it is impossible to love like this. Remember,
NOTHING
is impossible for
him who believes. If you are struggling, ask God, He will give you
everything you need to fulfill His command to love as he told us to.
It will not be easy and at times may feel impossible, but remember
that God would not have commanded us to do so if He knew we could
never succeed as He commanded.
"We
know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our
brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death."
"If
anyone says 'I love God1,
yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love
his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not
seen."
Loving
as God commands us to love is a serious matter. This pure love is
what makes us a true believer of God, one who is doing the things God
has given for us to do. We can see that if we do not love, we remain
in death. If we hate, dislike, loath, detest or disfavor a person,
then we do not love with God’s
pure love. Yes, we are to HATE
the SIN,
not
the sinner. We must
show our love as Christ loves us and the rest of mankind. We can
love when our inner most being is filled with a desire from God to
serve and please God. If we are to please Him and show Him our love
for Him, then we will do all He has given and commanded us to do.
Let
us take this time now to take a closer look at the different aspects
of love as given in 1 CORINTHINAS 13
Love
is patient:
Long-Suffering, forbearance, uncomplaining, tolerant, enduring
without complaint through a difficult situation.
Our
pure love should have the ability to endure through trials and
difficult times, without murmuring or even wishing ill will to
someone whom you may feel responsible for the current situation and
discomfort you may be having. Remember it's a choice you make to
love or not. If Jesus lost patience with us, where would we be now?
We would have no hope; we would be lost, doomed to eternal separation
from God.
Think of loving your
child through the rough times when your child is doing things wrong.
"By
standing firm you will gain life."
"Be
patient then, brothers until the Lords coming. See how the farmer
waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is
for the autumn and spring rains."
We
should be ready to help others, not doing so as a burden, but as if
you are doing it for Jesus, which you are. Any response we have when
dealing with someone, should be with the attitude and mind-set that
we are doing it to and for Christ, Himself. We also need to not just
respond in kindness when a situation crosses our path, but we need
search out and discover where we can show God's loving kindness, so
that God can receive all the glory, honor and praise.
"Therefore,
as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
"Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as
Christ God forgave you."
If
we are truly on God's path we will make every effort to remove envy
from our attitude, for love cannot be found anywhere in envy. We
find that people with envy make themselves and others extremely
miserable. Can you really even begin to picture Christ with this
type of attitude? Of course not, it is totally absurd, it just would
never happen. We must watch ourselves and love in the fullness God
has intended for us to love.
"Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.""A heart of peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
Love
does not boast, and is not proud:
Exaggerate, flaunt, brag, conceited,
self-important, vain,
overbearing, arrogant.
In
anything that we might have accomplished, seen, or heard about, we
should not become proud, boastful, conceited or any of these related
attitudes, for we should be humble in all we do. If we need to boast
about something, then boast about the Lord. We should never try to
build ourselves up, expecting praise for anything we do, for
everything we
accomplish is only through the Lord. Our lives should speak for
themselves, by our actions and words and our attitude. If you say
you are a Christian, then serve Him in everything, in every way.
"Therefore
as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"
"But
you are to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be
like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves."
Love
is not rude:
Course, impolite, gruff, discourteous, offensive.
The
pure love we are to have should include being civil,
polite, courteous, calm and
even dignified.
When
we look to the life of Jesus, ask yourself, was He rude, impolite,
gruff, discourteous or even offensive? OK, when He chased out the
money changers, but in reality this was only rudeness or offensive to
those who were defiling the Temple of God. We can see how rudeness
is very offensive, when you offend someone you cause separation, and
we know that separation
is not God's
goal for us. After all, offense is even talked about in the Old
Testament.
"An
offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and
disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel."
"A
man's wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an
offense."
"He
who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the
matter separates close friends."
With
God's pure love we will not seek out our own gain, for that is not
His desire for us. His desire is to love everyone. How can you love
with God's pure love that is a giving love, when you are seeking
something for yourself? The love you give should be seeking the gain
and increase of others. Your desire should be to serve others in
God's pure love.
"Each
of you should look not only to your own interests but also the
interests of others."
"Offer hospitality to one
another without grumbling."
"Let
us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up."
In
the pure love we are to give to others, we are to show NO
hostility or aggressive reactions. We are to hate the sin, and love
the person who sinned with Christ's pure love. We are to be
extremely slow to anger, for where is there room for anger in Love?
"My
dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak and slow to become angry."
"A
quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated."
Love
keeps no records of wrongs:
Infractions, incorrectness, improper, amiss, erroneous, evil,
inappropriate.
Our
actions are to forgive, just as Christ forgave us, and to have mercy,
just as Christ had great mercy on us. We are to be Christ-like in
our forgiving, and once we forgive, never bring up the wrong we
forgave ever again. For Christ forgave our sins, once and for all,
and will never bring fourth any sin He has forgiven us for. We
should not be searching out the wrongs and faults in others, but we
should be diligently seeking the good in them.
"Why
do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay
no attention to the plank in your own eye."
"Above
all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of
sins."
There
should be no pleasure in the sin around us, or any type of pleasure
from anyone falling into sin. For His ways are in truth. This is
where we find joy, for His truth is what we should be seeking at all
times, and we should be filled so that His joy bursts fourth from us
to those around us when His truth prevails over sin. Just as the
angels rejoice over just one person coming to a saving knowledge of
Christ, we too should rejoice in victory when evil is overcome.
"For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Love
will protect and defend at all times. Even protecting someone who
has fallen into sin while they get right with the Lord again. You
will not abandon someone in love, for that would be a contradiction
in the meaning of love. For love is NOT
seeking to find faults or to tear down, but love is seeking to cover
and shield and protect the person in the pure love of Christ Jesus.
"Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
We
should have an outlook on others that starts by trust, not
necessarily in that persons own strength, but in the power of God
that the person will come through whatever it is they are doing,
doing right in the eyes of God, even if
they started out wrong. This means we never give up on them. God
never gave up on us. We know that through our Lord, that all things
are possible. People are healed and people are changed. It is
trusting our Lord, knowing HE is in control, no matter what our
surrounding circumstances might be.
"This
is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In
repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your
strength, but you would have none of it.”
"Whoever
can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much..."
Hope
is the desire for something good that is being waited for in secure
expectation. Something you know will happen, but have not yet seen
the fulfillment of what you know will come to pass. Just as we have
our hope in the second coming of Jesus, and our being with Him
forever.
"For
in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what he already has?"
"For
everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so
that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we
might have hope."
Love
always perseveres:
Persists, endures, lasts, remains, insistent, to go on and to hang in
there to the end.
We
see that our love is to persist, to be a force that will not give up.
If we feel we are wasting our love on someone, we are to remember
that we are to "never give up, never surrender". As in
everything, as Christ loves us with love that lasts and endures
through all our rejections and failings, then we too should strive to
have love that overcomes all that the evil in the world throws at us,
and a love that lasts.
"So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what
is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
"Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us
throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us."
This
love, never, not for ANY
reason or circumstance will fail to overcome all that crosses your
way. Where would we be if Christ's love failed? No matter how
“evil” we may see a person as; we do not love the “evil” but
the person. You see the best example of love in its ultimate form,
is the unconditional love of Christ Jesus for us.
"This
is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
"May
your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your
servant."
Jesus
gave His life in love, knowing we were sinners and going to sin even
committing the most evil of sins as the world sees it. Yet, it is
this unconditional love that we are to have flowing out of us towards
others, especially other believers,
Is
your love encompassing all the Biblical love attributes? All the
attributes are entwined together to form the love God commanded us to
have. If you are failing in an area, pray, God will give you
everything you need to accomplish what He has commanded you. For if
He wouldn't, then He would never have commanded us in the first
place. If you are not striving for this love, this complete love,
then we know that we do not love Him, and that He is not found in us.
For this love is given to us by Jesus to have, and is commanded by
Him as well.
You
may ask, how can I love them after what they did? You must remember
that we are given everything we need to do what He commanded us.
Yes, it's an ongoing process to set ourselves in the habit of loving
God's way, and it is hard work, but it is NOT
impossible. Pray for what you lack, He answers prayer.
Now,
you may also say that, my Pastor or counselor said this, or that.
Remember they are just men and women like the rest of us. If
anything anyone ever tells you goes against scripture, then it is
wrong. Who are you following; Men or God?
"For the wisdom of this
world is foolishness in God's sight."
We
need to turn to His Word, throwing out all the things we are
bombarded with from this world. Even the most respected educated man
in all things who gives you any advice that contradicts Scripture is
WRONG!
If you follow this wrong advice, you will not be following God's
ways, and be led away into sin.
Don’t
let His Word be watered down! If God has told us to do something,
then we should do it to our fullest, with our whole heart, mind and
every bit of strength we have. Don’t
just go part of the way. If Jesus only went part of the way we would
have been left lacking. If we are not giving our all to Him, then we
are giving it to this world.
We
need to repent and turn 180°
from where we have fallen short by our lack of trust and effort. I
say again; ask the Lord for what you lack, to strengthen you when and
where you may be weak, so that in this way you may persevere, and can
be built into the whole person that He desires for you to be.
We
need to love God, holding nothing back, giving up all sin, and in the
same way that He loves us. Then in this same love, we are to love
our fellow workers-in-Christ, just as He does. Your love is part of
your witness to those around you, who are watching you even when you
do not think they are. Let His light shine from you like a beacon to
the entire world.
"By
this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
"Now
that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you
have sincere
love for your brothers; love one another deeply from the heart."
Loving
deeply from the heart, this is more than just acknowledging and
saying we love. It is the true, pure love that God has given us,
that should be pouring fourth from our hearts onto our brothers.
Love is the bond that we as Christians are to have with each other.
It binds us together it overcomes the world; it is the light of Jesus
shining through us. We can stand firm even in the worst of times,
God has NEVER stopped loving us or loved us any less. He loves and
cares for us even when we mess up and wind up on the worlds path.
Remember,
His love covers all. Just as our love is to be extended even to
those in sin. Love the sinner, hate the sin. The Lord has never,
and will never give up on us, therefore if this is His way, then we
to should act in this manner and NEVER
give up on others. For just as we have been forgiven and purified by
Jesus, the other person, who may be in sin at the moment, can be
redeemed and forgiven, and made pure by the blood of Jesus. This
includes the sinner who has done something that we would say is the
worst sin we could think of, but of course using the worlds
standards. For God, sin, is sin, none bigger or lesser in offence to
Him. Sin is anything contrary to Him. Once a person who has sinned
repents and turns from his or her sinful ways, they are made pure and
holy in God's sight, and He will remember the sin no more.
Never
run from a sinner unless they are trying to get you to sin or join
them in sin. The world is watching our actions and reactions to
everything. They are expecting us to be forgiving and loving as
Christ showed us. When we do not respond or act in the way that they
feel Jesus would, then they will criticize what we did or didn't do.
Then in their mind they confirm that this is why they do not want to
be a Christian.
I
have seen more non-Christians that are far more forgiving and loving
than many who profess to be "Christians". What kind of
witness are you? What kind of witness to the world do you desire to
be?
To
be a TRUE
CHRISTIAN, you
MUST
have love in your life, the same living love that Christ gives us.
This love must
flow from your life, flow like Christ's love flows out to us. For
without this love we do not know Him, for God is love!
"And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love."
