Friday, November 1, 2013

Feeling all "warm & fuzzy". Encouraged to Love!

To me, Paul’s greatest encouragement, which stands the test of time, is to love.

 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” -  Romans 13:8

Think about the law and loving your neighbor. If you loved someone, would you steal from them? Would you covet what they have? Would you murder them? Would you lie to them? It is easy to see that, love not only fulfills the law, but reveals Gods character. God is love. (1 John 4:8)

Without this love, even our most “sacrificial” acts are in vain. When things are done out of love, they are done with the intent of serving another. When love is absent, there is a selfish motive, sometimes even hidden in the heart from the doer. “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Cor. 13:3

Gifts are useless without love. Acts and character benefit no one without love. The law is useless without love. But Love, ties them all together perfectly. “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” -  Col 3:14

“…and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13:13

“Love never ends.” – 1 Cor. 13:8