The Law of Love

1 Jn 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Made in the image of God, we are wired for love.  We were created to receive, respond to and give out love.  I was contemplating on the law of love as I was having a walk down by the beach this morning and ended up lamenting because we don’t walk in the law of love as we should do.  We know that God’s “perfect love cast out all fear” so therefore the opposite of love is fear.  When we are safe in God’s love, we have no fear of the future.  We are content to wait for God’s timing and for His plan to be worked out in our lives. We know that He has a perfect plan in His Love for us, and He will see His perfect plan accomplished.  Not only do we have no fear for the future but we look forward to it with great expectation as we abide in His Love.

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psa 46:2  Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Love is the highest law there is in the universe and it is a law that should supersede the law of sin and death that is in our members.  If we put the law of love in its rightful place, we would not cater to the law of sin and death in the flesh.

1Co 13:4  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

1Co 13:5  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

1Co 13:6  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

1Co 13:7  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1Co 13:8  Love never fails.

Love is the more excellent way, and grows out of continued devotion to God, being filled and filled again and again by His Love.  Love is the higher path and love brings meaning to life.  Where there is no love, there is all kind of bitterness, fear and envy.  Love is tender, yet love can bring discipline where needed.  Love always forgives and restores. 

The Law of Love supersedes prejudices and emotions.  Jesus was weary and resting at the well in Samaria when a woman, caught in the bondage of looking for love in the wrong places, came to draw water at the well. The Jews disliked the Samaritans so much that many of them would not even step foot in Samaria.  Enmity was so great that no Jew would have spoken to a citizen yet alone a woman.  Jesus could have totally ignored this woman because of the years of ingrained prejudice between Jews and Samaritans.  He could have turned aside from her in His weariness but the Law of Love in Him reached out to her and brought her into freedom.  Jesus knew her sin.  He knew the darkness in her soul but He brought her into the light and love of His mercy.  In doing so, salvation came to her and the townsmen.

Love doesn’t push boundaries but keeps everyone safe within those boundaries.  Love also contemplates the consequences before it is put to the test.  It protects.  It does no harm to anyone. Love prefers others over and above oneself.  This is why Jesus said to follow Him, we need to die to ourselves take up our cross and follow.  Love walks in the light because it has nothing to hide and where all can be seen and everyone kept safe.  Love is clearly seen by the way we treat each other.

Joh 13:35  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

This kind of unconditional, pure love is hard to find in the world today.  This is why when others see genuine love displayed in the church it draws them in.  There is nothing like being an eyewitness of a loving encounter to warm and soften the heart.   Nor is there anything like being the giver or reciprocator of a genuine loving gesture.

Let us pray every day for God to so fill us with His Love that we are compelled in the overflow to reach out and touch others for the Kingdom so that His Love can be perfected through us as we obey Him in all we do because our love for Him.

Rom 13:8  Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

No Spirit of Fear

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. Heb 10:24-25

With all the natural disasters around the world, surely people are beginning to wonder what is happening. Our world which seemed stable is seemingly being hit in all directions with earthquakes, cyclones, floods and even financial disasters. Jesus warned us in Matthew and Luke that these days would come and explained that it would be the start of birth pangs for the day of sorrow, the tribulation that is to come upon the whole world. It would seem that the day of the Lord approaches, and although the term "end of the age" has been thrown around since the disciples walked the earth, there is particular need for us not get blasé but more and more to look up as our salvation draws nigh.

Church this is the time that we should, as the children of God, rise together and do what the bible tells us to do. This is the time, like never before, to humble ourselves, seek God's face and pray for the nations and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people of the world. This is the time that we should encourage each other, knowing that the days are dark and the love of many will grow cold with the increase of lawlessness that abounds. More and more the Church of the Living God needs to unite together and encourage each other to live for Jesus, to be the light, to stand for righteousness and intercede on behalf of all for God's mercy and grace.

We are living in days of fear, crippling fear, where the future is unpredictable and yet we can stay in peace, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."(2Ti 1:7) We know the One who holds our future securely in His Hands.

They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. Psa 112:7

I would encourage you, if you are not committed to your local church, get committed. I would encourage you, if you are not reading the Word every day, begin to. Don't wait for disaster to strike before you go before God for help. The Word needs to be banked in your heart and soul so that the Holy Spirit can bring it to you at the appropriate times and keep your mind at peace. If you are not committed to Jesus, it's time to get committed. Don't sit on the fence any more, it's not just you and your families lives at stake, but others. Pray, pray and pray and no longer live for yourself.

Like all labour pains, they begin slow and come to a crescendo. This seems to be happening in the world, and I don't want to be a "prophet of doom", but we need to support each other, love each other and pray for the salvation of others like never before. Remember,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Joh 3:16

Because He gave, we were saved. Let us now give our time, our talents, our love, our allegiance to our God so that others may hear about the Life and Hope we have in Him.