Love, A More Excellent Way.

You can't get anywhere in the Christian life unless you are willing to love. God is love. Jesus was a living sacrifice, crucified for love. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, and Peter all write about love repeatedly. This New Testament emphasis makes it clear that the Creator's creation is at his best when loving and being loved. When we operate in love and faith we are operating in concert with our design and pleasing God. Why not give it a try? It's a great stress reliever.

Keep in mind that we want to express (or manifest) the love that God intends, not some package of emotions that we have conjured up for the occassion. The love we want to express doesn't have it's origin in the natural man. Man tends to think of love as a feel-good emotion. God doesn't describe it in emotional terms. He says love is: selfless rather than self-absorbed, a more excellent way, fruit of the Spirit, and evidence of discipleship. Over and over we're encouraged to love as our Father in Heaven loves us. Love is God's motive for everything He does in our lives. We were designed to love and be loved.

"And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

"We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.." (1 John 4:18)

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." (1 John 3:16)

"..for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God." (John 16:27)

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:1-2)

"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8-9)

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24)

"But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:4-7)

God is serious about love. Here are some word pictures of the Christian operating in the Spirit. Remember we don't make law from the pictures. We live a 'thank you' life, not a 'have to' life. When we respond in spirit to God's Holy Spirit the pictures below come to life.

“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either." (Luke 6:27-29)

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality." (Romans 12:9-13)

"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

"Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23)

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." (John 15:13)

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8)

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10)

"Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

"And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5:8-10)

The classic New Testament passage on love, 1 Corinthians 13, is also a classic example of how God's word gets taken out of context. You hear this passage read at weddings. You see it on greeting cards. But Paul's primary purpose for writing was not to offer advice to newlyweds. By looking back at chapter 12 we see that he is actually addressing the behavior of the church in Corinth (in particular a problem of selfishness related to spiritual gifting). The model of selfless love described in chapter 13 is in contrast to the selfish attitudes in chapter 12.

"But (you are) earnestly desire(-ing) the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way." 1 Corinthians 12:31

And if, as John says, "God is love" then iIt should come as no surprise that God's "more excellent way" for the body of believers to operate is in love.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

"Let all that you do be done with love." (1 Corinthians 16:14)

"For the love of Christ compels us," (2 Corinthians 5:14)

"Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6)

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22)

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," (Ephesians 2:4-5)

"..that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19)

"..walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3)

"but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:15-17)

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.." (Ephesians 5:2)

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent.." (Philippians 1:9)

"..fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (Philippians 2:2-3)

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts," (Colossians 3:14-15)

"But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;" (1 Thessalonians 4:9)

"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

" ..love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith," (1 Timothy 1:5

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

"Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us." ( 2 Timothy 1:13)

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works," (Hebrews 10:24)

"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)

"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." (2 Peter 1:5-7)