Love him who tells you your faults in private.
It is easier to guard a sack full of fleas than a girl in love.
Love does not pay attention to dignity. - (Jewish Proverbs)
Gen_29:20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
Lev_19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Deu_6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu_10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Mic_6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Joh_15
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
1Jn_4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
February is the love month, where supposedly some fat naked baby dude with wings zips around shooting people with arrows to make them fall in love. Frankly, being shot with an arrow is not going to make love the shooter let alone anyone else. We go crazy buying the object of our love all sorts of treats and trinkets and if you don't then it is doing time in the dog house! Now, that's love. For me, if you only go all out for me one day a year and ignore me the rest I'm not feeling the love. Save money and just have you own kiss and cuddle marathon. That is far more fun than reading some card with pithy sayings or rhyme.
The human race is in love with love. Why? Because God made us in His image and He is love. He created us so He could love us and we were to love Him of our own free will. That went downhill when Adam and Even chose love of knowledge of good and evil over long walks with God in the garden. Now our concept of love is as fractured as our image of God.
English is rather limited in the expression of love. We love our wife, kids, dogs, hot dogs, sports, car and on and on without any other word. Blah! Greek is far more descriptive. There is a word for familial love, romantic love, friendship love and perfect love like God has for us. We often claim we have that kind of love for God when if the truth were known we would find ourselves in the same state as Peter when he claimed undying, unchangeable love for Christ just a few hours before he denied Him.
Indeed, God is very into love. I had to quit with the verses as love is mentioned in two hundred and eighty one verses. The greatest human love story ever is in the Bible, the Song of Solomon. The greatest love story of all time is there as well. The story of how God reached out to His fallen creation time and time again throughout human history showing love and mercy whenever we got into trouble because of our rebellion against Him.
We often complain and think that God doesn't love us. If you look back over your life with honest eyes you will see many things that as the Negro spiritual says. “It could have been the other way.” Even with what you see, you will never know the whole story until we get to that grand opening of “This Is Your Life” where all of what you did and what He did is reviewed before everyone. You will most likely find that some of what you felt were the worst times of your life were greatly mitigated by the love of God.
That being said, with all the love He gives us He expects and deserves our love in return as well as love for one another. He doesn't just say love the ones easy to love or the ones we want to love. We are to love our neighbors, strangers and even our enemies. Whoa, tough job! Yes, and without His love in us expressed by the Holy Spirit, it ain't a gonna happen. Even loving the ones we love can be a challenge at times so loving our neighbors with the howling dogs, the strangers we are not sure we can trust and our enemies are going to be a tremendous challenge! Thus, only by His grace and empowerment can it happen.
Many people say they love God, but are haters of almost everyone but themselves and I think hating themselves is what spurs on the hate of others. They are just projecting their own self-hate. We are all creations of God albeit broken creations. We are all mentally and spiritually challenged or we would love God perfectly and our fellow humans.
I had to unfriend a Native American lady on FaceBook because she was agreeing with some fellow who thought that Blacks (actually Dark Browns, read on) may have been created by a different god. Not only is that bad theology, but is not anywhere near a loving sentiment. God makes a strong statement in 1 John when He says if you say you love God and hate your brother you are a liar. Remember, only eight people got off that ark so we are all kinfolks. Some kin we are closer to than others, but we are related.
Indeed, race is a word Christians should strike from their vocabulary. That is a Darwinian phrase and has helped perpetuate many acts of hate over the years. There is only one race, the human race. (https://answersingenesis.org/racism/are-there-really-different-races/) In fact, there is only one color as science has proven we are all a shade of brown. So much for “Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight...” That song needs a rewrite.
So what's love got to do with it? Everything!
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God's plan for man has been about love from the beginning. It is we who have shunned His love and in so doing tainted the love we have for others and ourself. If you need some love, seek God through His Son, Jesus Christ and you will get more love than you have ever known.
For those of us who have received that love, it is one thing to talk about love, but true love is active.
1Jn_3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
May God bless y'all greatly. Have a lovely and loving month! Shalom! Maranatha!
