Welcome to month of December! As we begin the first few steps to ending this year and beginning the next, may we know the length, breadth, width and depth of the eternal love of the Father. Last week, we looked at the meaning of love, the expression of God’s love towards us and how to express our love towards Him. Today, we’ll be looking at how to express love towards others.

OUR LOVE TO OTHERS
Jesus said that the key to remaining in His love was to obey His commandment which was to love one another as the Father had loved Him and He had in turn loved us (John 15: 9-13). Our duty to love others is to both our Christian brothers and sisters (1 John 3:14-16) and to the world (Luke 10:25-37). Unfortunately, most often than not, we fail in both aspects, especially the latter.

OUR LOVE TO THE WORLD
Most of us miss the point when it comes to reaching the world. We are called to reach the world in love not in condemnation. One of the most beautiful moments of love I came across in the bible was the story of Zaccheaus. If I learnt anything from this event, it was to be so drenched in the love of God that it automatically affected everyone I came into contact with.

This story begins, probably on a sunny day, as Jesus makes his way through a town Zacchaeus happens to stay in. Zacchaeus is not a most likeable person. Described by the people as a notorious sinner, he happens to be the Chief tax collector, who openly cheats the people on their taxes; performing his sin not secretly but in full glare. It was quite known without a hint of doubt that Zacchaeus was sinful. Yet this was the person Jesus chose to attach himself to while in Jericho; to the disdain of many.

Funny enough all these people were sinners. Each was probably committing their little sins in the dark but they judged Zacchaeus, forgetting that all sin was equal before God (except blasphemy) and that they were as sinful as they saw him to be.

Zacchaeus was probably ostracized. He probably wanted to change but no one showed him love. He may have just needed someone to hold his hand and lead him out. The bible says he was filled with joy and excitement when Jesus decided to feast at his house. He repented on the spot. Jesus didn’t have to preach to him. All it took was an act of love.

This story is found in chapter 19 of the book of Luke, verse 10 of which says “for the son of man came to seek and save those who are lost”.

Imagine how it feels to get lost. If you were to end up in a strange place and not be able to find your way home, you’d probably be fragile, sad and scared. In this moment, what do you think you would need most? Someone who has enough love in them to sacrifice their resources to ensure that you are found or that you get home safe and sound or someone who simply concentrates on bickering about why you ended up in such a situation in the first place? This is the image Jesus wants us to have of the lost as seen in his parable of the Good Samaritan. Imagine if instead of helping him, the Samaritan had said to him, “why were you using this route at that time in the first place? When it is common knowledge that robbers linger in these areas” and focused only on making this point instead of reaching out to help the man.

It took love to redeem us, same way it’ll take love to redeem others. Even if you could walk in all the gifts and were still incapable of love it would all be futile because love is their very substance. Love is what gives meaning to them. Like the woman that poured oil on the feet of Jesus or the widow that gave her all. It wasn’t about their actions, it was about the heart behind those actions. This is why God seeks that we walk in his love first before his power.

The core of salvation was love also; where the love of God exists, there is no condemnation. When God appeared to Paul, he was not a Christian. When God inspired Pilate’s wife, she was not a Jew.

When the crowd tried to shut the blind man up, their lack of love could have cost the man his healing had he not persisted. Our lack of love can set people off the path they are on or derail people from getting unto the path they should be on. Let us love one another as Christ loved us.

OUR LOVE TO THE BRETHREN
It is unfortunate that today, there are still some of us that practice Religion and not Christianity. We take pleasure in fulfilling rules and regulations and cast out those who fall short of this standard. Forgetting that the core of the commandments was love. This is the understanding the Pharisees lacked that caused them to be so religious about the commandments that they kept their fellow brethren in bondage.

The danger of not having love is that God is not pleased with tradition. Since love is the essence and substance of all things, anything existing out of love is empty; mere chaff and carries no weight before God. Luke 10:19 expresses that when we become so pleased with fulfilling the rules that we lose the reason behind it all (which is love; Luke 6:1-5), it becomes tradition and God is not pleased by tradition.

Another danger of our lack of love is that it keeps people in bondage. Not just in regards to the world but our brethren as well. We must love our Christian brothers and sisters to enable them come back to the gathering of the brethren even when they fall short. Loving our fellow Christians is crucial because they may trespass and if not brought back into the fold may lose their way. That is the essence of the brethren; iron sharpeneth iron.

Look at John the Baptist for instance. He was defined as the greatest man that ever lived. Greater than those who led people out of captivity and those who were called friends of God. He was the one that created room for the coming of the Lord; the very first to preach the salvation message. He was a power filled person who saw with his own eyes the spirit descend upon Jesus and God’s voice speak out that Jesus was His son. He knew before everyone else that Jesus was the messiah and yet when he was in prison, he sent people to ask if Jesus was truly the Messiah. Now the catch is, Jesus answered by telling him what he already knew! : The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, lepers are cured. (Matthew 11)

Lesson: It is still possible for a Christian brother or sister whom you expect to have attained a certain standard of truth to find themselves in bondage. It is possible that despite what you expect, they may be lacking in this truth or may have, despite being aware of this truth temporarily lost sight of it as a result of the situation they find themselves in. What they need is for someone to bring to their realization that truth, so that they may walk in the consciousness of it. If the brethren become so riddled with traditions that they lose love and make it impossible for people to return to the gathering, they may remain in their bondage.

I’ve heard stories of people shun their fellows in church because they fell short of their standards, forgetting that Christ came for the sick. The message is not to mingle in bad company or to be comfortable in sin but to eschew love enough to release people out of bondage.

Anyone who does not love other believers does not belong to God (1 John 3:10).

You prove your love for God by extending it to others. Jesus said as you have done for your brother so have you done for me. How do you claim to love God whom you cannot see and hate your brother who you can see? In their lack of the word, did you feed them? In their thirst did you give them Jesus? When they were lost did you reject them because of their sin, cast them away because they did not fit in, Judge them…or did you invite them in? When they were more aware of the flesh, did you teach them to live by the spirit? When they were afflicted, did you care for them? When they were stuck in bondage did you leave them there or relieve them? (Matthew 25:35-36).

The bible tells of how after betraying Jesus, Judas, filled with remorse took the money back to the Pharisees and they said to him “what do we care, that’s your problem”…and Judas went and hanged himself. How many times has a lack of love made us self-centered and driven us to ignore the pain and turmoil of those around us?

CONCLUSION

As we go about our walk with God, may we recognize that Love is God and as a people who have received God and contain Him, we must spew love.
To the Brethren and the Lost alike.

I pray you were blessed by this post. Please feel free to comment, like or share. You can also personally contact as via our official line. We’ll love to hear from you!