God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won't be worried about the day of judgment.
A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows we have not really learned to love. We love because God loved us first. But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? The commandment that God has given us is: “Love God and love each other!”
1 John 4:16b-21
Satan wants you to misunderstand the word "love." That is why in the English language we use the word "love" about many trivial things. When you say you "love" chocolate you are really saying that you want to consume it for your own pleasure without any regard for the chocolate! That is not love at all. The word that more appropriately fits that situation is "lust".
But when you truly love, the object of your love is another person or even God Himself. When you love, you are saying that you desire to be consumed for the pleasure of the one you love!
Jesus is the most powerful example of love in all of human history. The depth of His love for me is a profound mystery. How could Jesus love me enough to die for me before I was ever born?
When we love each other we are touching the very essence of God! When I love another human being I give myself for the good of that person. And when I love God I give myself for His good and glory! And what do I get out of it? Heaven? Yes, but true love is not focused on what it gets in return.
"Lord, plunge me into the vast ocean of loving You. Let me spend everything You have given me on Your pleasure, not mine. And may Your Holy Spirit be comfortable in my heart. Amen."
Hi, Bill,
ReplyDeleteMom and I listened to your message this morning and liked it very much.
Bill and Marie