LOVE REVEALED;
“We know love by this,
that He laid down His life for us;
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”- {1 John 3:16}
Love has been revealed through Jesus Christ and His cross. He voluntarily laid down His life for…others! He made a choice, not one of convenience but one of self denial for the highest benefit of others His concern, therefore His commitment of all of Him for all of their benefit! An act of His Will, a choice of supreme sacrifice! And we are to Love likewise. No, we are not to go to a literal cross, but we are to choose to seek to provide for those who have a need when it is in our power to do so. A Commitment of all of us to express love to another in their need!
LOVE TESTED;
“But whoever has the world’s goods,
and sees his brother in need
and closes his heart against him,
how does the love of God abide in him?” -{1 John 3:17}
It is easy to say “I love you,” to someone who is in a place of desperation,need, and it be no more than mere words and to walk away feeling smug that you have conveyed your feelings to someone, or even saying “We will be praying for you.” Hmm, that sounds good, and prayer is a wonderful thing, But when it is within your power to help, why call out to God asking Him to help, when He has provided for you, and you are in the circumstance to help. At such a time the TEST is for you, who have the means to help. Do you have a clutch on what God has entrusted to you, am grip on it that says, “No, this is mine!” Or do you have an open hand saying, “This is Your’s Lord to take as You see fit.” Love is Tested. First there is the laying down of our lives for OTHERS. This verse is a TEST. A TEST OF SALVATION. “How can you say the Love of God abides IN you,” if you close your heart of compassion towards the person in need. “By this all men will KNOW you re MY Disciples by YOUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.” -{John 14:21}. Someone else’s need is an opportunity for you to Pass the TEST, THAT YOU BELONG TO GOD!
LOVE REFLECTED;
“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue,
but in deed and truth.”-{1 John 3:18}
Don’t just mouth words, or Speak about love, but DO LOVE. Reflect the Love of Christ, by meeting the needs of others when it is in your power. How cruel and un-Christlike when God has provided for you to help meet the needs of others and knowing full well their need, you close your heart towards them. That is characteristic of someone who does not have the Love of God IN them.
When is a thief no longer a thief? We might say when he or she stops stealing, but listen to God, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”-{Eph 4:28}. A thief is no longer a thief when they stop stealing. Instead when they start working… with the intent… to help those in need! They are proving they are being changed, “new creations in Christ.” Working to Help instead of stealing for themselves they are working to help…Others who are in need!
One reason you have a job, is to provide for you, your family but also to help others who are in…Need! Some of us think it is to accumulate as many things, toys as we can for ourselves, and miss the point of loving others, reflecting the love of God… and that is practically manifested in seeing someone who has a genuine need, and choosing to deny yourself, prefer them and meet their… need! “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude ]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”-{Phil 2:3-5}.
REFLECT the Love of Christ, by choosing to deny yourself, and prefer others,to serve them in their time of need,for Jesus sake {Read 2 Cor 4:5 “…. ourselves your servants for Jesus sake!”}
I once heard a story about a man on horseback in the days when that was the primary mode of transportation. The man’s horse went lame, and had to be put down. People in the village gathered around to see this sight and many felt sorry for the man as he had no other means of transportation or to provide for a horse. An elderly man took off his cap, put his hand in his pocket and took out some coins and placed it in the cap and passed it on to the next person and to the crowd who had gathered.
What’s the difference between feeling sorry and compassion?
Sorrow will move your emotions, compassion will move your will to feel and act upon the need!
We often settle for “feeling sorry” but it never leads beyond that! And we can deceive ourselves by comforting ourselves in that we “care,” when in reality we don’t, as the evidence is the person whom you have the opportunity to love in meeting their need, is left in need. Jesus said “And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked or clothe you? And when did You sick, or in prison, and come to You? The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”-{Matthew 25:38-40}
Another persons’s need is your opportunity to REVEAL the Love of Christ, Pass the TEST of SALVATION and REFLECT the Love of God, through meeting their need when you have the power to do so!
What we SHOW, DO, when we “SEE” a person in need, Reflects the Condition of our own hearts and is reflected in our response!