Love

37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

LOVE A feeling of deep affection. It defines our relationship with God and dictates how we should treat others.

What word can define our relationship with God ? If someone were to ask someone else to describe who we are to them in one word what would it be?

I would want for mine to be love.

1 John 4:7

The New King James Version Chapter 4

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

God shows His love for us

John 3:16

The New King James Version Chapter 3

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

Jesus dying on the Cross for our sin is the greatest act of Love

Rom. 6:23

The New King James Version Chapter 6

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Due to sin there was a chasm that separated us from God, a debt that we could not pay, the cost of that debt, was death. Jesus’ death payed off that debt in full and His resurrection gives us hope for the future! What an act of Love !

Obedience is us loving God

Everything that God instructs us not to do or stay away from is Him telling us how to love Him and protecting us from the consequences of those actions, conduct.

The New King James Version Chapter 12

42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

In her obedience she gave everything to the God whom she loved. We should do our very best to obey God. God loves us so much He will even help us to obey Him if we ask.

We are to love Others

Lets break down the story of the good Samaritan

The New King James Version Chapter 10

30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

This parable from Jesus clearly explains how to love others. The first few words of the story “A certain man”, are insightful this person could've been anyone because Jesus didn’t say a specific person, and that’s the point. The next two verses gives the opposite of loving your neighbour thieves robbed and beat him, others who were expected to help walked by. But then came a Samaritan, not knowing the man but had compassion and helped him to get the treatment he needed. So we are to do also!