The Love Challenge (Part 11)

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first. 

1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us." We know that the Lord first loved us by giving Jesus to pay for our sins, but as I wrote this, another angle to this crossed my heart. I spoke to a young father the other day. We were discussing child rearing, and he told me how he has tried to teach his children certain social behaviours by explaining them, but they were slow to get it. He, however, had a certain habit of saying “bless you”, and before long, he noticed the children copied his habit before they had applied what he tried to teach them. The point he wanted me to get is that the children learn much more by example than they do by being taught.

God first loved us, verse 19 states. He set the example, and if we watch Him love, for instance, by copying Jesus’ actions as recorded in the Bible or by looking out for divine opportunities to love as we see others do, we will be challenged by it.

Without being in the Lord, and Him in us, we as humans are unable to love. We are inherently selfish. Even our good works have selfish motives. But if we are in Him, and He in us, we have His unconditional love working through us to sow wherever we go.

Verse 20 is self-explanatory. I need not say anything about it. 1 John 4:20: Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

We all need to search our hearts and ask ourselves in which ways we lack love towards our neighbours. We can also ask the Lord to show us the latter. How often do we put our hands up in church singing "I love you, Lord", yet out in the world we act loveless?

The word "hate" in here sounds very strong. You might quickly say "I don't hate my neighbour", but isn't hate just the opposite of love? If I don't love my neighbour as per the standards of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, what do I do then? "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I counted 15 characteristics. How about scoring your daily love out of these 15 characteristics of love?

1 John 4:21: And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

There you have it. The title of this series is The Love Challenge.  Be challenged to love as Jesus did. If all believers do it daily instead of only living for themselves, imagine the difference we'll see in the world.

The Love Challenge (Part 10)

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.

Verse 18 had me thinking a lot, as I listened to how the Holy Spirit explained it.

1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

This passage can be interpreted from various angles.

Our Father loves us. He only has good intentions for us. The fact that He loves us and will be kind to us drives fear away, since He is going to be patient and kind, and possesses all the characteristics described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

If we love Him as He loves us, we will be obedient and have no reason to fear His discipline (punishment). Jesus used words similar to John 14:21 several times in John chapters 13 to 15: "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." Do you think it may be important to Jesus if He put so much emphasis on it?

Therefore, the one who fears probably doesn't love God enough to live in perfect obedience to Him, and therefore has a reason to fear discipline/punishment.

The passage in 1 John 4:18 above can also be applied to the love among people. If I love someone, my expectations of and the way I treat them should not instil fear in them. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states: "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening] (Amplified Bible).

Our love for others should cover their trespasses toward us. We should not judge or accuse them. We should rather pray for them that God will help them see their error and then help them to change. At the same time, one can pray that God will do the same for you. One can discuss issues lovingly.

We should make a point to believe the best of them and reject critical thoughts about them entering our minds.

We should hope the best for them because God can change anybody. We should also be careful what we say. Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]". Gossiping about people and cursing them by saying critical things about them comes easily, doesn't it? Let's rather replace our tendency to judge with love and give the Lord the mandate to help them through loving them, instead of giving Satan the mandate to destroy them through cursing them with our criticism and gossip.

It's not easy to live with something you believe is wrong, but you should always realise you don't know all the facts. Rather, play it safe by letting love help you endure what irritates you until the Lord comes through for you. 

(To be continued)

The Love Challenge (Part 9)

I want to apologise for taking so long to publish this next post in this series. I've been distracted, and the Lord already slapped my fingers. I promise to be faithful in publishing at least once a week from now on, but I will attempt to do more.

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.

1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

The words "and so we know..." mean that, since we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore submit to Him as Lord, we will understand the love God has for us and rely on it. He loves us, so why should we fear or worry? If he loves us, He only has good in mind for us, and therefore we can trust Him.

Then verse 16 reads: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God,
and God in them.” Do you remember the passage in Acts 17:28: ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’ and the vision I had of us being in the cloud (see here)? I want you to see the cloud as love. God is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is therefore a definition of who God is: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” So, if we love like this, we are one with God, and He is in us.

In the preceding three verses of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes the religious churchgoer who goes through all the motions of religion, but does not love like God is: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." Does it sound familiar? Have you caught yourself being like this? Have you come across people who are like it?

1 John 4:17 is profound and to be carefully understood: "This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus." What is the purpose of understanding love and being obedient in doing it? It is so we don't have to fear the day when we will stand before the judgment seat. We can be confident that we complied with all of the Lord’s expectations for us. Think of a time you had to face an interview panel for a job position. Have you prepared well for the interview? Have you ensured you have complied with all their expectations? Did setting yourself up for the job and the interview by doing everything they expected of you give you confidence to pass the interview?

What is the expectation for us to be confident during God's interview to enter heaven?

Love should be complete among believers.

How is love made complete among believers?

In this world, we are like Jesus. I.e., if we do the things Jesus did and have His attitude towards fellow believers and people who need Him, we will all love like He does, and love will be made complete among us.

How is Jesus?

Go and read the gospels and do what Jesus did, to the letter. Stop being churchy and religious.

To be continued.