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Recapping: we must know love to know God. But what is love? Is it just some nappy-wappy feeling when we say we love someone or someone loves us? We saw in 1 Cor 13 the attributes of love.
But more than that: Love is an action.
1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
How do we love? By showing the attributes in 1 Cor 13. By being patient, kind, protecting, unselfish etc. That is how God loves us. He is kind and patient with us, rejoicing in the truth, protecting and persevering. God's love will not fail - it is shown to us.
That is how we are to love others, in the same way. Which brings us to the next important point: WHO do we show love to?
- we are to love God
- we are to love our neighbors as ourselves
- we are to love our brothers
- we are to love one another
And the really hard one: we are to love our enemies.
In fact it is the last one that will make us perfect. I don't think many do this last one very well (again myself included). But when we can love our enemies in the same way that God loves us, we will be perfect! How many can say they are kind, patient, protecting, hopeful, unrude, unselfish, trusting, not angry and not keeping a record of wrongs with their enemies? That is what we must learn to do.
Matt 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Do you see it? If we can love our enemies we will be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect - because we will know love and we will know God!
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay them to his face (Deut.7:9-10)
All of the ten commandments can be fulfilled if we have love. Christ came to fulfill the Law: by love. Christ is love, His act of sacrifice on the cross is out of love. If we are to know God we must live in Christ and be Christ-like. We must know how to love.
What you said is true if we understand that THIS is the love of God that we keep His commandments.
Those who break His commandments do not love God. You feel that you keep the ten commandments if you have love and that is true - but you really do not mean what you say literally. ( I suspect.)
For example - do you keep the Sabbath day holy - if not then you do not love God. I also suspect that you will have a very good excuse (in your mind) why you do not obey - but it does not change the fact that literally speaking you do not keep the ten commandments... right?
What you said is true if we understand that THIS is the love of God that we keep His commandments.
Those who break His commandments do not love God. You feel that you keep the ten commandments if you have love and that is true - but you really do not mean what you say literally. ( I suspect.)
For example - do you keep the Sabbath day holy - if not then you do not love God. I also suspect that you will have a very good excuse (in your mind) why you do not obey - but it does not change the fact that literally speaking you do not keep the ten commandments... right?
HK
Hi Harold, making sence as usual.
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