A man without God can neither love God nor like God, for Scripture says “we love Him because He first loved us”(1 John 4:19). We cannot know God’s love, or know how to love like God, without God first loving us, dwelling in us, and then instructing us in His love. He is the Supreme Father who purposes to make known “truth to the children”(Is.38:19), and will therefore teach His children to love in truth. He will have us first to come to Jesus, who says “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me”(Matt.11:29). He desires that we come to “ know the love of Christ which passes knowledge”(Eph.3:19) whose love consists not in words only but in things that are done. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth”(1 John3:18) .
When He teaches us the meaning of love in truth, we will learn to be more concerned with our brother’s well being than in our own ‘rights’ as children of God. We will not persist in proclaiming “Do we have no right to eat or drink?” (1Cor.9:4), but will rejoice in renouncing even our rights or privileges for Jesus’ sake. “ Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ”(1Cor.9:12). If we believe that we have a right to enjoy a particular type of music and find that our music grieves our brothers, we will gladly lay it aside, knowing that to do otherwise would mean that we are “no longer walking in love.” In fact, “it is evil” (Rom.14:15,20). And we will also remember our Father’s teaching not to “ do anything but which your brother stumbles, or is offended or is made weak,” and that the “ strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom.14:21:15:1).
When truth is presented to us as children of God, wether it pertains to the gifts of the spirit, or such things as abortion, money, or music, it is joyfully received for “love rejoices in truth”(1 Cor.13:13). If it seems to come as a painful correction, we know that our Father’s correction is in love, for He has told us that “as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten”(Rev.3:19). If the correction comes through a brother, it will not bring about our anger towards him. Instead our attitude will be “let the righteous strike me; it shall be like a kindness” (Psalm 141:5).
Furthermore, if we truly desire to manifest God’s love to the world, it will be manifested in the same way that Jesus manifested His love for the Father to the world, it will be manifested in the same way that Jesus manifested His love for the Father to the world “That the world may know that I love the Father. as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do”(John 14:31), and “ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments And His commandments are not burdensome.”(1 John 5:3).
To believe and to teach otherwise is to believe and to teach folly. The end of which will eventually force one to have to woefully declare “ Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have knowledge of the Holy one”( Prov.30:2,3).
Shalom
