MISSION:LOVE 8

In the summer of 1998 the Lord had me memorize 1 Corinthians 13.  I called it “the summer of love.” It was the time when God began to teach me about His love, and the importance of it in my life as a Believer and follower of Messiah.

It was a life changing time in my life. I encourage you to spend time chewing and digesting this chapter and learning about the excellence of love. Without having that passage written on the tablets of our hearts we miss the very heart of what God wants to communicate to us about His love. In essence it teaches us that without love all spiritual gifts and religious acts are meaningless. In verses 4-7 God gives us a clear model what love looks like. It outlines how God loves us, and how He expects us to love each other: “Love Is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This is a beautiful plumb line to determine if we are obeying God’s call on our lives. Are we patient? Are we kind? It’s not always easy. We all come from imperfect childhoods, imperfect parents, imperfect relationships and imperfect ideas and notions of what love is.

Thankfully, the Bible also teaches us in 1 John 4:7-11 that love is from God, because God is love.   In this passage we learn that love is from God and that He wants us to experience His love and share it. Through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, God’s life, which emanates from His love, lives inside us. God’s eternal life is not only measured in duration, as life that goes on forever. It is also quality. To the extent that we receive God’s love for ourselves then we can, in turn, share it with each other. When that happens we experience the joy that comes from the abundant, “quality” life that Jesus promised us in John 10:10.

Just like 2 people in love spend a lot of time together enjoying each other and the experience of their love, God wants us to take the time to bask in His endless supply of limitless love. He wants us to go higher and deeper. He wants us to be rooted and grounded in love. He wants to impart to us more of who He is through His divine love. Ephesians 3:17-19

This happens through reflection on what the Word says about love, prayer and times of silent worship of God, with the goal of simply receiving His love. As we make room in our hearts and minds for more of His love, vital foundations will be built up that enable us to share that love with each another.

As a result of our obedience to the two most important commandments, to love God and to love one another (Matthew 22:36-40) we’ll see God work fantastic miracles in and through our lives, and we’ll get a taste of eternal joy in our lives on earth now.

God’s love is so awesome and multi faceted. From my experience, as we come to know His love, not only are our insecurities and wrong attitudes melted away, but we’re drawn into the beauty of God’s other attributes. His awesome holiness, wisdom, goodness and perfection are all found within His love. None of God’s attributes can be separated from each other. In light of this truth, when we walk in God’s love with reverential fear and thanksgiving, our lives are certain to mirror the life of Messiah, and isn’t that what it’s all about in the long run. Oh, that we may reflect the glory of our beloved Savior!

Father, I pray that as your people read this, that their hearts and minds are flooded with the truth of Your magnificent love for them. Help them receive more of Your love and in turn be holy vessels who carry that love into other people’s lives. Teach them, by Your Holy Spirit, how to best share Your love. Do this Lord so that greater blessings fall on their lives, and so that You receive greater glory. It’s in Yeshua’s precious and holy name that I pray.