LOVE
- GREATEST GIFT and COMMANDMENT
Pr.
James Victor Lubwama
When you love people, you remain in God because God is love. Whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him (1 John 4:16). When you love not, you go out of fellowship and God's will. The bible further teaches in 1 John 4:8 (NLT) that; "Anyone who does not love, does not know God, for God is love".
Look out for the positive attributes in people, ignore the negatives and that's how you will be able to have long lasting relationships. 1 Corinthians 13:3-8 (NKJV) says;
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.”
When you realize how much God loves you; with extravagant and unconditional love, then His extraordinary love will change your entire focus on life. If we don’t receive God’s love, we will have a hard time loving other people, especially people who are unlovely and difficult. You can’t love well until you have God’s love flowing through you, and once it flows through you, then you can ably and unconditionally love others without struggle or bias.
Love is the way faith expresses itself and where love is felt, it gives rise to hope (1 Cor 13:13).
Where love is absent faith is dead and we are dead too. The bible says in 1 John 3:14 (NIV);
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.”
The works of love are the evidence of living faith. Galatians 5:6 (NLT) says;
“For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”
If you really love someone, then you show it by how you act towards that person. Love is more than attraction. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. If love were just an emotion, then God couldn’t command it. But love is something you do. It can produce emotion - love is an action.
The Bible says in 1 John 3:18 (NLT);
“Dear Children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions”
In order to love others and to become great people lovers, we first need to understand and feel how much God loves us. We don’t want to just talk about love, read about love, or discuss love; we need to experience the love of God. 1 John 4:19 (NIV) reminds us that; “We love because he first loved us.”
We were created in God’s image to do two things on earth: Learn to love God and other people - our neighbours. Jesus teaches on the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV);
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mathew
5:43-48 (NKJV)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Without
love you can achieve nothing and can do nothing. Love conquers all. Love your
enemies, for if you love those who love you, what difference would you have
made? Everything that God says about Him, humanity and His laws all rely on
love - Christian faith and belief are held by love. Loving one another
is so vital that it fulfills all God's laws as Paul says in Romans 13:8-10
(ESV):
“Owe no one anything, except to love
each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You
shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall
not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is
the fulfilling of the law”.When you love people, you remain in God because God is love. Whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him (1 John 4:16). When you love not, you go out of fellowship and God's will. The bible further teaches in 1 John 4:8 (NLT) that; "Anyone who does not love, does not know God, for God is love".
Look out for the positive attributes in people, ignore the negatives and that's how you will be able to have long lasting relationships. 1 Corinthians 13:3-8 (NKJV) says;
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.”
When you realize how much God loves you; with extravagant and unconditional love, then His extraordinary love will change your entire focus on life. If we don’t receive God’s love, we will have a hard time loving other people, especially people who are unlovely and difficult. You can’t love well until you have God’s love flowing through you, and once it flows through you, then you can ably and unconditionally love others without struggle or bias.
Love is the way faith expresses itself and where love is felt, it gives rise to hope (1 Cor 13:13).
Where love is absent faith is dead and we are dead too. The bible says in 1 John 3:14 (NIV);
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.”
The works of love are the evidence of living faith. Galatians 5:6 (NLT) says;
“For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”
If you really love someone, then you show it by how you act towards that person. Love is more than attraction. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. If love were just an emotion, then God couldn’t command it. But love is something you do. It can produce emotion - love is an action.
The Bible says in 1 John 3:18 (NLT);
“Dear Children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions”
In order to love others and to become great people lovers, we first need to understand and feel how much God loves us. We don’t want to just talk about love, read about love, or discuss love; we need to experience the love of God. 1 John 4:19 (NIV) reminds us that; “We love because he first loved us.”
We were created in God’s image to do two things on earth: Learn to love God and other people - our neighbours. Jesus teaches on the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV);
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Life is all about love!!
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