On Love

-
 

1 John 4 : 7 
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."

1 John 3:18 
"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."   

The subject of love has been widely taught, discussed, talked about, spoken of and even expressed both in the positive and negative distorted extremes. However quite a few number have actually paused a bit to understand what LOVE really is, it's content, and how it is really practiced. 

The opening scripture of 1 John 3:18 points out that love (just like compassion and mercy,) is in the action, not in words or intents; and 1 Corinthians 13 explains in details the contents of love : it never gives up, cares more for others than for self. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first,” and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. It is never glad about injustice, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. Trusts God always, always looks for the best, never loses hope, and never quits. All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, but love goes on forever. 

So, in essence, the key manifestation of love is being sacrificial to others in your actions. The purest form of love is sacrifice: yielding or giving up your place, stuffs, and things for others; in the same way God gave his ONLY son to die, so that you could live through him (1 john 3:9). Love is considerate of the other person, compassionate, respectful, deliberately committed and empathetic. It is simplifying the task for the sake of the other person; making things intentionally easy for people. It does not castigate, judge or accuse. it is not harsh, it is comely, it builds up and does not tear down people's spirits. When you walk in love, you give out empathy and compassion to a world that is desperately in need of it. 

This kind of love, which is the true kind, is not usually common in the world we live in; and practicing it could make you appear weak, foolish and defeated like a beaten child, but in actual sense, you are winning and you are strong. The bible says it's okay and in place for you to feel that way because God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the things that are mighty. (1 cor 1: 27). So, whenever you feel that you are loosing out because of your acts of love, just know that God is building up your inner strength and making you stronger, and it will manifest in due time. If God loves you sacrificially, you should love another in the same capacity. When you do so, he comes to tabernacle in you; his Spirit dwells in you, makes your heart his abode and never leaves. So, love retains God's Spirit in you. (1 John :15 &16)

And this is how you will know you have perfected this love: -boldness. (1 John 4: 17). When you have attained this form of love, you have boldness in Christ in the face of fear or anything that intimidates, because perfect love casts out fear and there is no fear in love (v.18). Also, when you know you have love when you face judgement and are not afraid, you're confident because your heart is pure and void of any offense. 

On the other hand, anyone who fears is not made perfect in love. and the truth is, when one doesn't walk in love or is not perfected in love, he walks in hates (there is no go-between); and when he walks in hate, he becomes a liar. This makes the person the son of the devil because he is the father of lies. Now, that's a dangerous place to be, and that, without even knowing! 1 John 4: 20 explains that when you claim to love God but hate (disrespectful, inconsiderate, selfish towards) your 'brother', you are lying. So, for your love to be complete, you have to love your brother even as you love God, as God commanded. 

Love in general, and loving your 'brother' in particular, is a commandment not a choice. So, you love other people regardless of whether they love you back or not, because love is actually when you extend it to people, not when they extend it to you. Therefore, don't be afraid to make the first move. Love gives boldness which comes in time, the more you love. With this renewed understanding, may God's love that is already shed abroad in your heart be manifested in your actions as you give yourself to practicing it. Amen.

God bless you!

Comments

  1. OnefoldFebruary 16, 2021 at 9:16 AM

    Great one.
    God bless you ma'am

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ormah's SpaceFebruary 17, 2021 at 9:54 AM


      Thank you and God bless you too Sir.
      Kindly share with your circles.

      Delete
  2. Ormah's SpaceFebruary 17, 2021 at 9:53 AM

    Thank you and God bless you too Sir.
    Kindly share with your circles.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A fu ihe ka ubi... (Selling the storehouse)

-
Image
  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field...and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. -Mt 13 :44-47 "A fu ihe ka ubi eree oba" is an Igbo adage  which loosely translates to : " when one sees what is greater than the farm, he sells  the barn. This implies that when one sees something of high value and important he gives up his 'storehouse' (his entire treasury/savings) to get it....at all cost.  On the face value, this adage feels like just about any other saying, but on a close look, it has a lot deeper implication. 'Oba', which means 'barn', in the traditional Igbo context connotes one's storehouse where they stock up the volume of yams harvested (as yams was one of chief food and yardstick for measuring wealth in the ...
Read more

On Soul-winning

-
Image
Proverbs 11 : 30  "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise ."  Soul-winning is simply changing someone else's bad ways, beliefs, and thought process into a godly   one, by pointing them to Christ through the word of God. Whoever that continually perform this act is considered wise.  So, soul-wining is a noble act act of wisdom, and here is why: James 5: 20 said that he which converted the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide multitude of sin. This means that by turning sinners from the error of their ways, you're saving lives and instrumental to protecting them from the harsh punishment of sin.  The golden rule makes provision for you to have exactly what you do to others. so, for every soul you save from death, and sin you cover, your longevity is assured and your sins are covered too; because he that watereth shall be watered (prov 11:25), and blessed is he...whose...
Read more

On the Woman

-
Image
  A gracious woman retaineth honor:.. strength and honor are her clothing...She opens her mouth in wisdom ; and in her tongue is the law of kindness .  Prov 11 : 16; 31: 25 -26   There has been quite a lot of  teachings, concepts and also a few misconceptions on the subject of this amazing creation that God has perfectly designed for the benefit of the whole earth, and to fulfill the purpose of the expansion of His kingdom. Unfortunately, due to the limit created by the general stereotypical notion of a particular manner that a woman should act or behave, a lot of women have not attained the full potential that God had planned, some has only scratched the surface, and some had it all twisted, therefore getting offended. However this subject explores and points out the deep truths that you may or may not have known, which will enable you enjoy and maximize your potential as a woman or the woman in your life.  Firstly, the opening scripture a...
Read more