There are some challenges that the world is facing today. The sad thing is, so much of it is bringing strife, anger, confusion, and division into the Body of Christ. Rightly or wrongly, the Church is caught up with division between border separations, vaccine decisions, various view points and in actual fact even doctrinal view points and the list could go on.
The sad thing is, if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, we are on the same side adopted into the same family and therefore should love, honour and respect each other accordingly.
The Mayor, nailed it when he spoke about the good Samaritan and the command, “Love your neighbour” as yourself. Well, how can we truly love our neighbour when we can’t love each other within the body effectively and correctly.
There is a direct link between the power of God and the love of God! God is love and “If love is in us, the power of God is wanting to and able to flow through us”
“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 NKJV
The foundation of this abundant power is found in the Apostle Paul prayer above.
We would be rooted and grounded in this love. Like a tree that is rooted or a building that is grounded. In other words, we should be well established in the love of God.
When he says to “know the love“ of Christ he means that we should move from an “intellectual or theological” know to an “experiential” know. In other words that you would experience this love in your life on a daily basis through relationship, revelation, and intimacy with the Father.
The Apostle Paul goes on further and says that we are to bear with one another in love.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV
We are encouraged to walk worthy of the calling, in other words to walk appropriately and in the very nature of God. “LOVE”. Part of walking worthy is truly bearing with one another in this God kind of love. We are all different in personality, nationality, background, experience, purpose, and destiny. Yet are all part of the same body – The Body of Christ.
In bearing with one another it really means to put up with our differences. Difference of opinion in how a prayer line should work, how to conduct a service, how to win souls, how to preach a message, how to make coffee, how to sing songs and so on. The outworking of our gifting, how a conference should look, down to the very elephant in the room, vaccines, lockdowns, as well as end times and what the Church should or shouldn’t be preaching.
We are encouraged to maintain or keep the unity of the Spirit. Unity cannot be achieved without the love of God in the centre of our lives, families, churches and of course, our conversations or view points!
You cannot truly say you know God if you don’t love. If you allow gossip, strife, discord to enter in your life and the lives of other believers, can you truly say I love like God has instructed me to do?
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:7-9 NIV
The Bibles says you will know them by their fruits. Love is a fruit of the Spirit. By this or the lack thereof, will tell those around whether or not you are a true disciple of Jesus.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
When Jesus was telling His disciples that He was about to be glorified and that He was about to leave them, He left them with a new standard of discipleship and “Christianity”. That they would walk in an unconditional love that would be evident through serving one another as well as a that they would possess a selfless love with no hidden agendas. Only one agenda, to magnify the Father.
By this love the world would know who the true followers of Jesus were. Christ’s love is not motivated by human qualities but is motivated by the grace of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 talks about God being able to do far over and above all that we could ask, hope, or imagine through the power that works in us.
What are you believing for in 2022? What are you expecting to see in your lives, your families, your Church and your nation?
God is able to do far over and above all you could believe for!
You and I are called to be rooted and grounded as well as to know the love of God. We are called to bear one another in love. This love can only come from God!
Remember 1 Corinthians 13 says that faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. Faith pleases God. Hope keeps us looking up. Love is greater than all, it overcomes all and releases the power of God in our lives and the lives around us!
Love one another. Respect one another! Let your lights shine! Time is short! The world is watching!