The Spirit of Grace
desires to produce love in the experience of each believer in Christ Jesus. Many
relationships suffer because of self-centeredness, impatience, insensitivity, jealousy,
insecurity, pride and the list goes on. Christian marriages, homes, friendships,
and lifestyles would be more than favorably impacted by a generous dose of
divine love. Relationship complications range from communication problems, sex,
money, household chores, deprioritizing the relationship to conflict and trust
issues (Sorgen, www.webmd.com).
While there are many self-help articles
and books on the market offering many well thought out solutions, I believe
there is one fundamental problem at the root of most relational challenges. In
most cases Christ and His truth are blatantly missing because the individuals
are unsaved and uninterested in God’s Word. With regards to believers, His love
can scarcely be detected in the average relationship; this is a tragedy of
embarrassing proportions. While shallow, token and superficial ‘love’ abounds
in many places, deep abiding agape-love is often missing or has been minimized.
In contrast, the Apostle Paul exalts the potency of agape-love saying it, “Beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” (1
Cor. 13:7, 8a). While every relationship has challenges at times, still there is
absolutely no force in the universe more powerful than divine love. It is
always a key element in real relational solutions! Even better, such love is prescribed
for every child of God as a way of life for us followers of Jesus Christ. None
other than the Spirit of the Living God can produce this transforming fruit of
the Spirit in a yielded life. Every relationship on the planet needs this dynamic
type of love.
LOVING
In the listing of the fruit of the Spirit,
love appears first
because it is the foundation of the other graces. “But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22, 23). Thus love lays at
the foundation of healthy relationships. But what kind of ‘love’ is this? Obviously this is divine love; it can be
described as spiritual, sacrificial, unconditional, volitional, enduring, and
triumphant (1 Cor. 13). It is supremely supernatural
and wonderfully sublime. Often love is characterized as a feeling, sentiment,
or an emotion. We love our mother, football, and even the house we grew up in.
Though love is used widely in these manners in our society, none of these are
what the Apostle Paul had in mind when He wrote the word “love.”
Love is not merely an
emotion, but a choice to do what is best for the ones cherished. Love acts to secure the highest good
spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally. Love has been described
as the steadfast command of the will to secure
the lasting good of another; even for those who do not love in
return. It is both love for God and for one’s fellowman (Matt.
22:37-39; Jn. 14:15; 15:10). Clearly the fruit of the Spirit will entail
expressions of love toward God and man as a normal course of daily life. In his
book The Work of the Holy Spirit,
Kuyper (1946, p. 533) observed,
The means employed by the Holy Spirit in the shedding abroad of the Love
of God in our hearts is simply Love. By loving us He teaches love. By applying
love to us, by expending love upon us, He inculcates love on us. It is the love of the Holy Spirit whereby the
shedding abroad of love in our hearts has become possible. As according to I
Cor. xiii., Love ought to manifest itself in our lives, so has the Holy Spirit
wrought it in our hearts.
The Bible reveals the
three principal qualities of the Christian life, which are faith, hope, and charity. Of course
charity is the greatest of all according to First Corinthians 13:13. Love is
the preeminent quality of Christian character. Yes, faithfulness is important
and certainly hopefulness is too. But
the greatest and most excellent trait the Spirit of God seeks to ‘stamp’ upon
the believers character is love. When this virtue fills a life, it provides the
most persuasive evidence of a genuine personal discipleship to Christ (Jn.
13:35; 1 Jn. 3:10-24). True faith must always lead to a life of love for God and
others (Matt. 22:37-40). This is one of the central purposes and most crucial
evidences of genuine people of God in this life. Another critical purpose of
believers is to glorify Him in all facets of our existence. Cultivating loving
character certainly glorifies God! It was Kenneth Osbeck (1990) who
said, “Our love
relationship with others should be characterized as sacrificial, sensitive, and
sharing.” This is heavy-duty love and it is not for the faint of heart. That
is, believers are to relate and interact with others much as the Lord Jesus did
while here on earth. Christ obviously loved individuals simply for themselves.
They were His creatures bearing His image and no matter how obscure and marred
that image was, He genuinely loved them, accepted them, and met them at the
place of their personal need. While He
never condoned sin in anyway, He readily reached out to sinners and the
unlovely to save them and help them know life free of the bondage of sin (Luke
19:1-10; John 4:6-42).
The Bible declares that
“God is love” and He loves the world (1 John 4:8; John 3:16). Love is the very
nature of God,
John is emphasizing that God is love. Love is His nature. There is no
love in the true sense but that which finds its source in Him. The words “God
is love” are well worth all the languages in earth or heaven (MacDonald & Farstad).
Therefore, what is true of God can
become true of abiding believers who depend on Him for this quality. Yes, this
awesome divine love can be communicated into the lives of genuine believers,
Since God is love, intimate acquaintance with Him will produce love. Like
light (1:5), love is intrinsic to the character and nature of God, and one who
is intimately acquainted with God walks in His light (1:7) (Walvoord & Zuck).
Since love is what God is, it is also what His
children ought to be—willfully compassionate, willfully tenderhearted,
willfully loving individuals, and willfully obedient to God. This is not merely
a love rooted in admiration, or natural affection, but it is anchored in the
human will—the power of choice. The Spirit of Grace produces love through our yielding
and choices. It is not about feelings primarily, but it is decidedly about
choices first and foremost. We must
choose to govern ourselves in a loving manner regardless of personal feelings
toward another. I know that statement sounds strange, but it is biblically
accurate. This is why love can be directed toward all men—to include one’s
enemies (Matt. 5:43-48). We are not
commanded to have warm feelings toward someone who is antagonistic toward us,
but we are instructed to pray for and do good things for them in return for
their animosity. We make the choice to show love.
Love is beautifully
described in 1 Corinthians 13 as sacrificial, service oriented, placing others
first, showing deference, exhibiting patience, and consideration. Love is
brilliantly proclaimed in all its fullness at the cross of Calvary where Christ
freely and willingly shed His precious blood for undeserving sinners (Rom.
5:8). He suffered greatly for our faults and sinfulness when He knew just how
dark and wretched we truly are deep inside. As expressed through Christ, not
even His own life was too great a price or sacrifice to secure the people He
loved unto Himself. What an awe-inspiring passion! Such self-sacrificing love
that moved Christ to embrace the cross for us sinners is the same type the Spirit-controlled
believers will manifest also. This conclusion
is inescapable!
SHARING
Love is often evidenced
in the form of giving. This is seen in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit’s
gifts towards humanity and the people of God. God gives generously into our lives every
singular second of every day for the entirety of our lives. We are to love
others as He loves us. Love towards our fellowman is wonderfully captured in
Paul Tan’s anecdote, His Brother Was Spurgeon from his
Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations (Tan 1979, p. 1202).
It is related of the late Mr. Spurgeon that on one occasion he found a
boy on the streets, ragged and hungry. Taking him with him home, the good pastor
fed and clothed him, and then, kneeling down, prayed for the friendless boy as
only he could pray. Several times in the prayer he referred to the Almighty as
“Our Father.”
When the prayer was finished the boy said, “Did you say “Our Father”?”
“Yes, my boy, yours and mine.” “Yes,” was the reply, “then we are brothers.”
“Yes,” gravely replied the pastor, and then he talked to him of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and finally, on taking leave of him, gave him a letter to a certain
boot dealer for a pair of boots.
A few days after, Mr. Spurgeon was passing the boot shop, when the dealer
saw him and called to him. “I had a strange thing the other day,” he said. “A
boy came into the shop and asked for a pair of boots, saying that his brother
had sent him, and when I asked him who his brother was he said you were.” “That
is right,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “and he is your brother, too, and if you like we
will share the cost of the boots.
Who can forget that “God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16)? Love must
be the most powerful force in the universe because it motivated The Father to
take extreme measures to His own detriment to redeem us sinners. Clearly, Jesus
“Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:23). Why
was Christ on that tree on Calvary? It was because He loves His church, His
bride, and willingly sacrificed Himself for her! It took far more than mere
nails to impale the Sovereign of the universe to a cross. It took holy, pure,
righteous, Son of God agape-love! How amazing is this! My heart is overwhelmed
as I reflect upon this tremendous truth. When I was of no value at all to God,
He meticulously sought me out, refused to give up on me, gently wooed me to
Himself, completely redeemed my exceedingly sinful soul, generously granted me
a new place of honor in Christ, and one day He will come to receive us unto
Himself when He takes us home to Heaven! I am saying that God is the greatest
Lover, and thus He is the greatest Giver ever! Should not the “love of Christ”
(2 Corinthians 5:14) constrain us believers today to give? Selfishness and stinginess should be extremely
strange in Christian circles! Paul told the Corinthians to “prove the sincerity
of your love” (2 Corinthians 8:8) by giving to the needs of others. Give to
support the New Testament church you belong to. Give to sustain missions’
endeavors around the world through your home church’s worldwide outreach
efforts. There should be convincing evidence of genuine Christian love; the
proof is in our generosity.
CARING
Love also enables God’s
children to express meaningful care one towards the other. We can overcome
“personality conflicts” and avoid the many troubles a church may experience
because of infighting and bickering (1 Cor. 12:31-13:8). Why? Well, because we care for one another,
care about the testimony of our Lord, and care to influence others for Christ
instead of against Him. Biblical love would solve most marriage problems modern
couples grapple with. Caring for one another must far outweigh pettiness, insensitivity,
senseless hairsplitting, and even restore family/work balance. Adultery, unfaithfulness,
two-timing, disloyalty, and many communication problems will evaporate once
believers start living out godly love. Spirit-wrought love seeks to conceal and
not reveal an embarrassing or awkward matter about another (Prov. 10:12; 17:9;
1 Cor. 13:4; 1 Pet. 4:8). This means private issues do not end up on the internet
or on social media outlets. One simply does not embarrassingly expose those
they love! This is how we behave when we truly care for family, friends, our
church, and associates. Godly love ensures the needs of others are met and
fuels the fires of ministry fervor to the saints (Eph. 4:15-16). Training, discipleship, and mentoring
ministries must be empowered and motivated by love. This will sustain them and
keep them progressing in the right direction. In a loving context the elderly
are cared for with sensitivity and tenderness, the handicap are ministered to
according to their special needs, and the helpless secure real help without further
mistreatment.
Godly love also inflames
the saint with passion to reach the lost for Christ (2 Cor. 5:14; Acts 4:19-20).
Precious souls are deeply valued, sought out, witnessed to, brought to church,
encouraged to trust the Savior, and presented with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Human
beings are treated with dignity and respect because they bear the image of God.
They are genuinely and routinely loved. Loving sinners to Christ with the truth
of the Gospel is completely consistent with holy love. There is no desire to
merely label and condemn the unsaved, but there is an honest recognition of
their sinfulness compelling us to reach out to them with the only solution for
sin in the universe. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is what they need, just as it
was for every believer. Oh for the grace to love more sinners to the Savior!
Love is why Christians obey God and treat their neighbors the way they would
like to be treated (Mk. 12:31; Gal. 5:14; Js. 2:8). As Believers, we need to be
filled with the Spirit to evidence divine love.
Every honest child of God knows we cannot live up to these divine
expectations in our human energy! Lord Balfour upheld the biblical mandate in a
piece entitled The Best Gift (Tan
1979, p. 459),
The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent,
tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father,
deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself,
respect; to all men, charity.
Brethren, let us love one another for
love is of God. Let us put away our excuses for not loving as we ought and
follow the Lord Jesus in this regard as well. Loving, sharing, and caring are
what our Heavenly Father expects of all His children. We must rely on the
Spirit of God to bear this fruit in our experiences. Let us ask God to fill us
afresh that we may love as Jesus did.
With regards to believers, His love can scarcely be detected in the average relationship; this is a tragedy of embarrassing proportions. While shallow, token and superficial ‘love’ abounds in many places, deep abiding agape-love is often missing or has been minimized. In contrast, the Apostle Paul exalts the potency of agape-love saying it, “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” (1 Cor. 13:7, 8a).
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2014/02/love-is-what-we-need.html
#HolySpirit #Relationship #Marriage #Fruit #Sharing #Grace #MaxEvangel #Love #Jesus #Giving
With regards to believers, His love can scarcely be detected in the average relationship; this is a tragedy of embarrassing proportions. While shallow, token and superficial ‘love’ abounds in many places, deep abiding agape-love is often missing or has been minimized. In contrast, the Apostle Paul exalts the potency of agape-love saying it, “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” (1 Cor. 13:7, 8a).
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2014/02/love-is-what-we-need.html
#HolySpirit #Relationship #Marriage #Fruit #Sharing #Grace #MaxEvangel #Love #Jesus #Giving
Who can forget that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16)? Love must be the most powerful force in the universe because it motivated The Father to take extreme measures to His own detriment to redeem us sinners. Clearly, Jesus “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:23). Why was Christ on that tree on Calvary? It was because He loves His church, His bride, and willingly sacrificed Himself for her!
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2014/02/love-is-what-we-need.html
#HolySpirit #Relationship #Marriage #Fruit #Sharing #Grace #MaxEvangel #Love #Jesus #Giving