THE PREMISE ~ “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. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9-11 NKJV, emphasis added).
THE COMMAND ~ While on earth in human form Jesus Christ said that if we live authentic Christian lives, those around us will know us by our love for one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35 NIV).
There are a number of specific ways in which we can measure how well we are doing in our love life.
(1) Increasing Love ~ “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you” (1 Thessalonians 3:12 NKJV).
(2) Intense Love ~ “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22-23 NKJV). “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV).
(3) Sincere Love ~ “In purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love” (2 Corinthians 6:6 NIV). “Don't just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other” (Romans 12:9-10 TLB).
(4) Continuous Love ~ “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love” (John 15:9-10 NIV). “Continue to love each other with true brotherly love” (Hebrews 13:1 TLB).
(5) Limitless Love ~ "But concerning the pure brotherly love that there should be among God's people, I don't need to say very much, I'm sure! For God Himself is teaching you to love one another. Indeed, your love is already strong toward all the Christian brothers throughout your whole nation. Even so, dear friends, we beg you to love them more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 TLB).
(6) Complete Love ~ “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love. We love each other because He loved us first” (1 John 4:18-19 NLT).
THE BOTTOM LINE
(7) Controlling Love ~ “Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave His life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God” (Ephesians 5:2 TEV).
A key question for you and for me: How does your love life measure up to these seven aspects of Christian love?
Good post and very important to us if we claim to be followers and slaves of Jesus Christ. Thanks for this, have posted an excerpt on my blog with a link back to yours.
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