How to Love
It is another “month of love!” And with Jesus joy and love, I welcome you to February. Our theme for this month is:
“How to Love...”.
1 John 3:11 says
"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another."
And Romans 12:9 added
"Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good."
And Matt. 22:40b says
"Love your neighbor as yourself".
The Word of God enjoins us to love one another. This sounds so good! But how can we do this? Some people seem to be irritating, and we often find it difficult to go along with some members of our own family. How then do we make love the main characteristic of our lives? What can we do to make the love of God to overpower and overcome our bitterness, resentments and irritations, and become the shining lights that direct our lives?
We can achieve this by learning to lean on God, trust His perfect love (He first loved us), and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us love like Jesus. We have to make love a priority! Jesus gave love priority over all other Christian virtues. Every thought, response, and act of kindness must be done in love. We must seek to understand love. Three Greek words are translated as LOVE.
PHILEO (brotherly love), is the first level of love. It involves getting to know people, accepting them for who they are and enjoying being around them, leading to a close friendship.
EROS (romantic love), is the second level and usually arises from PHILEO. It is the attraction that makes a man to be committed to a woman.
AGAPE (sacrificial love), is the third and deepest level of love. AGAPE love is not an emotion, but a decision, willfully taken to love no matter what. AGAPE succeeds where brotherly love and romantic love fail. Reaching out in AGAPE love draws contending couples back together to work through their problems and eventually restore their relationship.
Love is the character of God (1 John 4:16-17). Love values the other person. Love opens up to others. Love makes a statement and leaves a legacy. Love does not seek the evil of others. Love never gives up and never loses faith. In the end, the goal of the Christian life is love. The measure of our maturity is our love for God and our love for others. If we fail in our love, we have missed what it means to be a Christian.
“Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is Peace.''
Love breeds peace. In this series, we shall explore the following topics: how to love when it hurts; Jesus our perfect example and first love; the costs and responsibilities of loving yourself; how to love in a modern world; loving God and others; languages and acts of love. Come along!