Love More Deeply
Loving another more deeply is harder than most people think, but it is what we are commanded to do by Christ. Loving deeply is what he modeled for us through his ministry. The Truth of the greatest command is the Truth of God that drives the core of faith faith in Jesus Christ. God’s Truth and only His Truth is best spread by finding the ways to love someone, and expecting no reaction or expecting nothing in return. Just loving to love the.
Have you ever wondered if what you are doing is advancing the Kingdom of God? Are you surrounding your self with only believers and then wonder if you are reaching anyone beyond believers. Do you wonder if your words come across in the love, or your actions are loving the way that Christ commanded we love to everyone.
Are we living the Love that God commands of us? And if we are, is the Love of God we live leading people to the open arms of Christ.
Mathew 22:36-40 ″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We can not say the words “I love you” flippantly, the word Love means way to much. Love is everything that my God commands us to do. To love means you understand the need of the other person, and filling the need. When we love deeply we see that someone wants something in a certain way, and do everything possible to meet that need.
Loving means that when someone hurts us, we move beyond the hurt. We move beyond this hurt by finding the need in the hurt, and filling it from a joyful heart.
Sometimes loving someone means finding a need and filling it. Sometimes you will never even mention you are a follower of Christ. Sometimes no scripture will be needed to spread the Truth of Love. When we are acting in the love of Christ all that needs to be said is through our actions.
Sometimes loving someone can cause hurt when belief in the Truth causes relationships to be strained. When we stand up for the Truth of God, or point out an inconsistency with the Truth, we are loving those people. We are trying to lead them to Christ, the ultimate example of love. But more often than not(because they are blind to the truth) they see it as a rebuke, and do not see the love. I wonder if they are blind to it because the approach was not in love but self righteousness? Which is the opposite of loving.
In both situations, I will always answer if someone asks why I am Loving on them. I will point them to my Christ.
We love on fellow believers, just as we find the ways to love on non believers. We do so knowing that God and Christ are the model of love, and I love based on that example. Love because my faith in Christ commands me to. Love because Christ is Truth and Love. Love because He loves us.
Eph 2:4 -10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
I Love the post.
However, as I read it, it seems so individualistic and not community thinking. (And it could be the way I am reading into it… you know me)
Instead of “me advancing the kingdom”, or “me surrounding myself with only believers”, or “my Christ”, or “my God”.
Why not.. “we” advance the kingdom together, “we” surround ourselves with others, and “our” Christ, and “our” God.
I am not at all trying to slam you Carl, I know your heart. I just feel a lot of us write with ourselves in mind (me included), and in reality we should be thinking of others first.
We should try to think this way when we read and when we write.
I feel that “the personal relationship” with Christ has made us individual thinkers on what do I need to do to be a better follower, why not… What do I, as part of His Body, need to do together to advance His Kingdom.
I know we will be judged individually on judgement day, but I feel we will be judged on what ourselves have done together in Him.
Sorry for being nit-picky.
Love ya Brother.
Don’t worry about the way you read things Brian.. You don’t have to apologize to me. I love that you are willing to engage and discuss (Or Comment) openly.
Isn’t part of community the Love of Christ, and it has to start with each person making the choice to love those around them?
Don’t we learn to love by understanding how a God loves us as individuals, that he laid His life out on the cross? Each name of every individual resting on his mind?
God has 3 parts to his Community. Father Son Spirit – Each one can not exist without the other. We can’t have community if we don’t have relationship with the Father, love like the Son, and Discern with the Spirit. All three have to be in balance.
We must Love others more deeply to truly have community
That is what I was getting at when I put this line in.
“We can not say the words “I love you” flippantly, the word Love means way to much. Love is everything that my God commands us to do. “
When I read “Jesus died for our sins”
I read the “our” as all together, not for my sins individually.
Could we read the verses you mention this way?
Mathew 22:36-40 ″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your (THE CHURCH’S) God with all your (THE CHURCH’S) heart and with all your (THE CHURCH’S) soul and with all your (THE CHURCH’S) mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your (THE CHURCHE’S) neighbor as yourself (PART OF HIS CHURCH). 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
and
Eph 2:4 -10 But because of his great love for us (HIS CHURCH), God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us (HIS CHURCH) alive with Christ even when we (HIS CHURCH) were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you (HIS CHURCH) have been saved. 6And God raised us (HIS CHURCH) up with Christ and seated us (HIS CHURCH) with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us (HIS CHURCH) in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you (HIS CHURCH) have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves (HIS CHURCH), it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one (CHURCH) can boast. 10For we (HIS CHURCH) are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us (HIS CHURCH) to do.
Since the whole Bible was put together for God to reveal His Son to us, I look for Chirst in all my reading.. and since Christ’s actual body is the Church…this way of reading it makes more sense to me.
Swanny
I do understand what you are saying… The Plurals are meant as US=Community.
God in and of Himself is community. He cannot exist without the other 2 persons. The trinity is built as community, just as we are too.
We cannot be a living stone by ourselves. We are to build a wall together as living stones.
Hear that.. the tumblers are falling into place in my head.
Seeing God in Community makes all the difference in understanding.
you have gymnasts in your head?
Voices mostly.. They argue with each other a lot…
Thank you for commenting on my post about marriage! Good perspective.
You are welcome… Peace.