Encouragement

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I’ve been thinking about love. We are commanded to love God and others. Matthew 23:36-40 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
The bible holds a beautiful definition of what love is. I Corinthians 13:4-7 “Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself, unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
Where does love come from? Where do we find the root of love? I believe that true love (agape love) comes from God, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:12-21 “For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in your appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves [insane], it is to God: or whether we be sober [of sound mind], it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead [on behalf of Christ], be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made righteousness of God to him.”
We are to love God in mind, body and spirit. We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ the way we love ourselves. We know what love is and that love comes from God, God is love. We supposed to love people who hurt us and use us. Matthew 5:44-45 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise [shine] on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just [those who do good] and on the unjust.”
There is no doubt. We should be about love; not selfish, not self-seeking, not self-important, but filled with the spirit of God. Galations 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patient endurance], gentleness, faith, Meekness [power under control], temperance [restraint or moderation in feelings, thought and actions]: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections [passions] and lusts. If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”
When we become born again and filled with the Holy Spirit we have no need to dwell on our past. Romans 8:1-6 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus [who live in union], who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:34-39 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword [war]? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
How magnificent love is! God is love!!!
Written by Lisa Collier Clewis December 3, 2013. [email protected]

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