Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Love

Hey Everyone! We have decided to do a series on The Fruit of the Spirit. We are really looking forward to your comments on our posts. We are going to move through the "fruits" one by one. Hope you all enjoy!

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


The first Fruit is love! If you have been to church in a while you know just how pivotal this virtue is. Even God Himself compares Himself to Love! Think of that.

1 John 4:8

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.


Love has to be a very powerful thing for God to be the essence of.

1828 Webster dictionary defines love as: "To be pleased with..."

Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater than these.”


Both of the greatest commandments have to do with loving!

The way that God loves us is an amazing thing. "For God so loved the world," this means that God is still pleased with His creation, despite the fact that there is so much sin. That is crazy love! Or how God loves me, after I have trampled all over His rules and wishes so many times. Knowing that He loves me keeps me going back to Him for more forgiveness, and more grace.

Love is a powerful thing! We see so many dictators who tried conquering the world by force, like Cesar, or Napoleon, or Hitler. These men built their Kingdom on hate, and suffering, and death. They were kings, leaders and emperors with power, and influence. But here we see another man, who was not born in a noble family, but in a manger. Jesus did not use physical force, but he used the most powerful thing to rally people to Him, and that was love! All these worldly empires fall after only a few years of existing, but the Kingdom of Jesus is still standing and it will stand forever! Why would the most Powerful Being ever to exist use love to build His Empire on? Perhaps it's the most powerful force?

Then we see that God gives us, Christians, the power to tap into His love! Now we have the most influential force to use on other people, to help them and preach the gospel to every corner of the world. When we believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in us, and we become His temple. Once this is done, we have all the love we need!

Here in Galatians, Paul is telling all believers the way we were B.C (before Christ), and A.C. (After Christ) if you are a Christian, love should be evident in your life. It should be something that comes natural. I have to say that I lack love, :( I am not always the loving person that God wants me to be, but God promised if we ask for it, He will grant it to us. Pray for it, and work wholeheartedly towards that goal of having more love in your life. Love, that is pure, is God manifested in us!

Here are some questions for you all to reflect upon:

What is one way that Love has changed you life?

How can you love better?

What is getting in the way of you loving God?

I would love to hear your opinions and comments!


-Jerry

3 comments:

  1. I look forward to reading more in this series! =)

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  2. This is great stuff! I love the paragraph about love as a force! I recently wrote a post about the fruits of the spirit myself, so I can't wait to see what you have to say! ;)

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  3. Great post! Let's see... the way my parents have raised me (lovingly) has changed my life. And the way God loves me as well. Alot of times, I don't deserve what God gives me, yet because of His faithfulness and love to me, He does. Same is with my parents. Many times, I can be disrespectful, sarcastic, and sadly, unloving to them. Still, they don't lose hope or give up on me. They lovingly correct me, help me change and give me a second chance. That's one way I think love has been demonstrated to me.

    How can I love better.... well, for one, being less self-centered and more focused on other's needs. If I'm constantly thinking of me, me and me, it's going to be hard to let that go and begin focusing on others. I think that if I spend my time serving others, that's an act of love. And it doesn't have to be hard. Simply helping an elderly person do anything (even something you'd consider simple) is an act of love towards them. :)

    And for the last question, I think it ties into my previous answer. If I get too self focused and lose what should be my real priority, I will cease to love God like I should. If I'm serving others, I'm loving God. If I'm obeying Him, honoring Him, and worshiping Him, I'm loving Him. Loving is a act of self-sacrifice. You can't love and think of yourself. To love God, you need to let go of your own agenda, and put yourself into His. :)

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