This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”—John 15:12-13
That’s right. It is love. Not as the world loves – but the love of God. Our capacity to love others the way that God loves us comes from God not from an intense desire on our part. A desire that comes from our will and not God’s. When we try to do that – the love fails. The world demands that you DO and then your love is proven. God demands that you LOVE and then the proof will show itself in the way that you do.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” – James 2:14-18
I am certain you have heard many teaching on these verses. Martin Luther struggled with the book of James since he was convinced that our righteousness comes from faith and not works. (I agree with him, by the way). He called is a “strawy” epistle – meaning it was hard to swallow. I believe James’ point is not that works come before faith, but that works are a natural product of faith. We have a tomato plant in our back yard and it has never yielded one tomato, not one. So what good does it do? It doesn’t get big enough to shade us from the hot Texas sun. That would be something. Likewise, as Christians, we are to demonstrate the love of God – through various means – by good works – good works that are fruit born from our faith in the One who called us out into new life.
If you do something nice for someone that you don’t like because it is the Christian thing to do – you have missed the point. If you do anything out of duty – meaning if you had the option you would not do it – you have missed the point. If you have a problem loving other Christians because they are not like you – you have missed the point. In fact – you have a love problem – not toward them but toward God. Verses I used yesterday …
“We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” – 1 John 4:19-21
Must love means that it should flow from us – as if we had no choice. Our flesh may push back and provide any number of reasons why we should not love someone or even like them – that is the nature of our spiritual struggle. The Body of Christ is divided because Christians are yielding to the flesh and not the Spirit. Preferring cultural traditions over the providence of God. Do you want the world to see Jesus? Do you want the light of Christ is shine into this present darkness?
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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