January 4, 2012
19"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Deuteronomy 30:19-20
After Jesus said to love God with all our heart was the greatest commandment, in Matthew 22:39 He added "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In essence, Jesus is saying 'the second is foremost also, love people!' As we continue to figure out how to "choose life" the first mandate is that we would love God but also love people! In reality to love God is to love people. John made it very clear in 1 John 4:7-8, 20
"Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." "If someone says says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he as seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen."
As simple as this seems, I'm convinced the difficulty lies within our definition of love versus God's definition of love. Please take a moment and ask the Lord to show you how well we really love people. Here's God's definition of love:
4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Hard question: think of the people in our lives, do we love them like this? Is our love for others conditional and circumstantial or is it like God's love for us, unconditional? This kind of love is supernatural and can only happen as we walk in the power of God's Spirit. He alone can love like this through us which is why abiding in Him is so critical.
"Father I confess I don't love people like You've asked me to. Please remove my selfish definition of love and replace it with Your selfless, supernatural love. Help me, move me to love people like You love me! Thank you for loving me so unconditionally! By Your Holy Spirit help me love You and love people to the glory of Your Name! In Jesus Name! Amen!"
His Kingdom Come,
Skip
