What is love? Love is not just a feeling or an emotion, it's much more than that - Love is an action word. I once heard this quote that if you love someone, you have to let him/her go. Love is not about possessing someone, you can love someone from afar. Love requires sacrifice and to love someone is a choice. Feelings and affection for someone can fade in time, but true love doesn't go away that easily. If love is just based on what we feel in our heart, than it can be a dangerous and deceitful thing. If your love is only based on an emotional feeling, than it means that if one day you feel like you love him, you will do anything for him, but if the next day you feel like you don't love him, you will just walk out on him, because the feeling of love is no longer there. But love is about choosing to stay put and work out all the wrongs to make it right, no matter how hard the circumstance. The Bible tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Let's look into the Bible for it's definition of love; "Love is patient, love is kind, and it is not jealous; love does not brag and it is not arrogant, does not act unbecoming; it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness; but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hope all things, endure all things….. But now abide faith, hope, love these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8,13)
True love was demonstrated to us by Christ, "But God demonstrated His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) "Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. (John 15:13), "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16) Love is always about sacrifice, God gave and gave and gave. That is just His nature, "The one who does not know love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8)
What motivates you to do the things you do? Is it out of obligation? Out of love? Out of fear? The bible teaches us that "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives our fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not perfect in love." (1 John 4:18).
Fear however has two types… Irrational fears such as fears of cockroaches and a reverent healthy fear of the Lord, which leads to life, " The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death." (Proverbs 14:27)
The fear of God, actually drives us towards him, not away from Him. God has shown us so much of His love that, our only response to Him is to love Him and worship Him by following and obeying him. We fear him because, He is God Almighty, Just and Holy and we are mere dust and sinners, damn to hell. God can smite us anytime if our sins arouses Him to anger, but He chooses to withhold His judgement from us because of grace. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both the soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28), "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the father, full of grace and truth". (John 1:14) "For if, but the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life, through one man, Jesus Christ! "(Romans 5:17), "He made him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21) That's grace and that's true love!
Love can be demonstrated in a few practical ways - by words of encouragement, by praying, by works of kindness… "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 mountain, but do not have love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-2). Therefore, we ought to "Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:4), "We love because he first loved us" (John 4:19). "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
Love - because God first loved us and it is a demonstration to the world that we are indeed His disciples! Fear the Lord, because it is life!
God bless you
Serving with you in His Kingdom with love;
Princess Michelle -
Beloved Daughter of the Most High King
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