Increasing in love and compassion – Part 2

The Bible teaches us not just to love one another, but also to continue in love for one another. Love is a deep and tender feeling of affection for or attachment of a devotion to a person or persons. Love is the nature of God because God is love. This nature of God, we also have in us as believerswhen we became born again. You cannot say you are a true child of God, if you hate one another. No, you can’t hate, except something is wrong somewhere.

The Bible says that God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” Christianity is living a life centered on love, both for God and for others, as exemplified by Jesus’ teachings and actions. Jesus’ ultimate act of love was sacrificing Himself for the sins of humanity. The Bible said in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” The most important commandment in Christianity is to love God with all one’s heart, soul and mind. The second great commandment is to love one’s neighbour as oneself. Jesus’ love was sacrificial, and Christians are called to love others in a similar way, even when it is difficult.

Loving others is not just a one-time act, but a way of life that demonstrates one’s faith and relationship with God. Jesus demonstrated love through actions like healing the sick, feeding the hungry and forgiving those who wronged Him. Christian love is seen as a response to the love that God has shown to humanity through Jesus Christ. A life of love is a mark of a Christian, demonstrating their faith and relationship with God. The lifestyle of love is a mark showing people that we are God’s disciples. We have experienced His love, and therefore able to love others to His degree. The old commandment was to love others as ourselves, and the new commandment is to love others like Jesus loves us. This puts an entirely new standard on the way that we are called to love one another! We are not only to love others with our whole selves, but also to love self-sacrificially. Jesus, our greatest model of love in human history loved unconditionally, sacrificially, passionately and selflessly.

As Christians, we must love the way Jesus did. Jesus loved by healing the paralysed man who interrupted His teaching (Mark 2). Jesus loved by supplying loaves of bread and fishes to thousands of hungry listeners (Matthew 15). Jesus loved by forgiving the adulteress who was seconds away from being stoned to death (John 8).

Love is a fulfillment of the requirement of God’s law (Romans 13:8). Love is a genuine affection we must have for one another, both to believers and non-believers (Romans 12:10). Love is not a lip service, but demonstrated through genuine concern for one another. The Bible says that love is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). If we have God’s kind of love we will be tender, caring, compassionate and considerate to others, and will create trouble to no one. Love does not delight in evil (1 Corinthians 13:6). Those who are filled with the love of God do not delight in the suffering of others, even if they are their perceived enemies. True love is characterised by a preference for goodness and truth over wrongdoing and injustice.

• Today’s nugget: God is love. Prayer: Increase my love for one another. Prayer lines: 08033299824. E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel UkachiAmadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria