…add to your…brotherly
kindness love. —2 Peter 1:5, 7
{CHAMBERS} “Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know
what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one
person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign
preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26). Initially, when “the love of God
has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5), it is easy
to put Jesus first. […] The first thing God does is forcibly remove any
insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me
that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to
do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “…love one
another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He is saying, “I will bring a number
of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to
them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a
patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be
evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were
soon tired and frustrated.[…] Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained
through discipline.”
{ELGIN} Matthew 22:37-39 says love God – first – and then love others. It all starts with our devotion to God. Loving others is more than an emotion – it’s
an action. It’s independent of the ones
we are loving and totally dependent upon the One who loves us. (1
John 4:19) “We love because He first loved us.” That love is declarative about the nature of
God. (John 13:34-35) “A new command
I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.” Why would the world know that?
Because of the nature of the love that we show to each other and the world. (1 Corinthians
13:4-8) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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.”
Loving like that is not something
that you can conjure up by your own will power.
It is contrary to your old nature.
Instead you would like to be selective about who you love and how you
show that love. Only giving it out to
those you deem as deserving. Lucky you
are not God because we would all be going to hell if you were – since none of
us deserve salvation. You loving others
is motivated by your love for God and your submission to the Spirit of
God. Don’t try to justify why you withhold
it. There is only one reason … you are
not loving God the way you should … so how can you possible love others the way
you should … you can’t. And you won’t.
So be careful. Be watchful. And
be ready to proclaim the glory of God by how you love others. God loves you!
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