SEASON OF LOVE NOT LUST
AN INSIGHT INTO LOVE HAS GOD MEANT IT.
We say God is love and that he loves the world. 1 John 4:7-8, John 3:16. We also say that God exhibited this love for us by giving us Jesus Christ his only son to die for our sins. But truly, do we really know what love means? Do we know what it is to love one another?
1 Corinthians 13:13 says
“For now there are faith, hope and love. But of these three, the greatest is love”.
What most Christians regard love to be is tolerance, and I say a very strong no to that. Tolerance is enduring patiently (which is close), but love is life itself! Love gives life and without love, life is meaningless. Love is a character on its own. As Christians, love is our greatest quality. Every Christian must have a heart of compassion and understanding like Christ did.
This is how the Bible describes love: “love is patient and kind. Never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love is not selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal hopeful and trusting. Love never fails.”
That is the contemporary English version of 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.
Go over all those verses. Christ is lacking in none of the positive ones and he is never known to abide by the negative ones. So when God looks at us, this is what he wants to see in us. When we have all these, God sees love in us. And since God himself is love, 1 John 4; 7-8, it means that God sees himself in us. He sees us as part of himself, which makes us one with him. This way, we are ever in communion with God. There is nothing we will ask of him that he will not do for us, except it is not in his will for us.
Jesus is love too. He exhibited every characteristics earlier mentioned. This gave him the authority to say, “I am one with the father”. There is nothing that Jesus will ask of God that he will not do for him. This is simply because, God and Jesus are one and God will not deny himself what will bring glory unto him.
PEOPLE, please love another.
Jesus said “love thy neighbor as thyself”. You cannot be hungry and pick a stone to eat. In as much as you know what is good for yourself, then you know what is good for others.
PARENTS love your children.
Not the normal affection you have for them. Share with them your time, knowledge, wisdom, truth, joy, life, honesty, integrity, give them reasons to forever carve your names upon their hearts.
COUPLES love and respect one another.
Share the boundless love Christ shares with the church. Share integrity, honesty, faithfulness, trust, love, happiness, peace, joy, sorrow, and pains too. Give your lives to each other. God has made you one, so do not let anything come between you except for the love of god. Live in communion with each other.
EVERYONE, love one another.
You do not have to be related. Let every word that comes out of your mouth be filled with love. Let every thought in your heart be thoughts of love. When your pocket is heavy, share with those who do not have. When you see a down-hearted person on the street, give that person the brightest smile you’ve got.
Show love. No matter what people do to you.
Let me tell you a secret. No matter what abilities and qualities we may have, how knowledgeable or great our achievements are, if we do not have love, there is no value in all these. Love adds extra quality of greatness to our lives. Other things will disappear, but love has the element of eternity. Love deepens and sharpens our insights and understanding. It stimulates growth in everyway. Love is one sure way in which we may understand life and its deep mysteries. When we love, we will have a much better perspective of live. When we do not love, we only know a part, not understanding life as a whole. The clouded mirror of life will clear up when we truly love. So give your heart to true love this season.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Joseph Yetunde
CCC Imole Jesu Parish
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