1 John 4: 1-21

 

 

The word love has become so common in our society today. People use the word love carelessly and I strongly believe that a lot of people don’t know what it means to love one another.  One of the common books in the Bible about love is I Corinthians 13 and this particular chapter has become so common today.  This chapter has become a poem in a way because even some non-Christians use this chapter to describe their love for one another.

 

We need to ask ourselves today if we really understand what it means to love. Do we have the type of love that the Lord displayed when He gave up His only begotten Son for our sins?  Or is our love for one another based on certain conditions?  For example, if you love someone until they do something to hurt you, this is not true love.  True love will make room for mistakes and will easily forgive.  Looking at our relationship with Jesus, if once we make mistakes in our walk with God, God just cuts us off and we are no longer connected to his throne of grace, none of us will be where we are today.  So, before we say “oh I just can’t stand you” or “I don’t love you”, we need to really think about where we will be if God didn’t love us despite all our inadequacies.

 

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be part of a meeting where my eyes got opened to the true meaning of love. I never thought about love in the way the Holy Spirit presented it to me.  So below, you will find some of the key points that I believe we should all ponder on this week in order for us to really know the type of love we have towards one another.

 

1.)    Love is a true test of discipleship – this means that if you are a true follower of Christ, you have to love others.  John 13:35 says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  So a true test of discipleship is for you to love your neighbors just as Christ loved you.  We need to reflect on this because if we say we are children of God, we need to show love.  This makes me to believe that anyone who says he/she loves the Lord and has no love for others, does not belong to the Kingdom of God because his/her actions will be dictated by the flesh. 

2.)    Love is not based on physical perception – this means that love goes beyond the things we can physically see or perceive.  You don’t love someone because they come from your tribe, you don’t love someone because you speak the same language, you don’t love someone because they buy you nice things, you don’t love someone because they baby-sit your children for free, you don’t love someone because they dress well, and you definitely don’t love someone because their skin is light, brown, black, etc.  Love is deeper than physical things; the love of Christ is wonderful and goes beyond the physical.  So, we need to check the type of love we have, do we only love people that have things in common with us or do we make room to love people that do not have any qualities in common with us. 

3.)    Love is not coated with envy, jealousy, condemnation, malice, wickedness and rottenness in the bones.  This means that when you truly love someone, you don’t envy them, you don’t get jealous of their success, you don’t condemn them, you don’t keep malice or have bitterness in your heart towards them, you don’t think wicked thoughts in your heart towards them, and your heart is filled with good thoughts towards them.  For example, when you truly love someone, you don’t envy their talent and you don’t condemn them when the Lord is using them in any area of their lives, instead you celebrate with them.  So, if you have been doing this in your heart, God is merciful and there is always room for change. 

4.)    Love makes room for mistakes – this means that love stretches and love accommodates.  When people make mistakes, you don’t cut them off; instead you make room for their mistakes and just take it as they just don’t understand!  So, instead of us cutting off people when they wrong us, we need to ask God to give us that ability to take it.  Jesus displayed this wonderful attribute throughout His ministry on earth. Looking at the story of Peter, even though Peter denied Jesus three times, He restored Him and we can see this in John 21.   So we ourselves as true children of God, we need to ask God for this grace to make room for people’s mistakes.

5.)    Love speaks the truth. Truth cannot be disconnected from love because when you truly love someone, you will tell them the truth.  Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you should not tell them the truth that will be beneficial to their lives.  It is our duty as true believers, to speak the truth at all times.  If you have a brother or sister that’s in disobedience, just because you love them does not mean you can’t correct them or guide them in the right path.  If you don’t, then your love is coated with deception. So, we need to just have this at the back of our minds that love is truthful, not deceptive.

6.)    Love is protective. This means that love does not take a seat in the midst of the scornful.  You will not join other people to slander someone you say you love. So, if you find yourself joining other people to speak evil towards your neighbor, then you don’t love.  When you find yourself in such situations, you don’t join people to destroy your neighbor, but instead you seek the truth in the matter and you stand up for righteousness.  

7.)    Love is not complicated and perfect love will cast out any fear.  We don’t need to make love into something complicated. In addition, we don’t have to be afraid to love our neighbors.  When you love someone you are not fearfully that they will hurt you.  When you truly love someone you are at peace with them at all times.

8.)    Love covers a multitude of sins.  In the book of Luke 7 verse 47, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Here we see that Jesus forgave the sins of this woman because of the way she loved.  Verse 44, Jesus said, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.”  So here we see that this woman displayed a deeper kind of love and the love she showed was the substitute for her sins. God uses love as leverage for a lot of things in our lives.  I Peter 4:8-9 says, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.”

 

To conclude this devotion today, we need to ask God to teach us how to truly love one another in order for us to not hinder our blessings. A principle as simple as love can be the reason why some people are yet to enjoy the blessings of God upon their lives. Let’s stop singing the Lord’s song in a strange land. If you don’t love, you cannot truly say you are praying to God, singing to God, or fasting to God because you will be offering the sacrifices of a fool. So, it doesn’t cost us anything to love your others as yourself, why don’t you start loving the way Jesus ordained for you to love today!

 

God bless and have a fruitful week