When it comes to love and loving, we must understand it is the One Who is love (1 John 4:8), loved us first (1 John 4:19), and clearly demonstrated love (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10) as being the One from Whom we are to learn about love. It is not to the world, but to God we need to look for understanding what love truly is, because God’s love compels us to love in ways the world does not always understand. (i.e. Matthew 5:44) Are we loving what God loves and loving His way!
In what is sometimes called “the love chapter”, we find the characteristics or qualities of godly love as. . .
“(4) Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (6) it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (7) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (8) Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV)
There we have listed the Divine essence of godly love both in the sense of how we are to love and how not to love. As godly love loves, it does not love any and everything, but loves as God has loved us and is made evident in our life through our obedience not to the world’s ways, but to His commands. (1 John 5:3; 2 John 6) Though we are to always love and be loving in all we do, as Paul noted, love doesn’t “insist on its own way” and it “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Love does not set God’s way aside for our own, nor does it set aside truth, though we are to speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul exhorted. . .
“(9) Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9 ESV)
Understanding what characterizes God’s love, let our love and loving be genuine! Let our love and loving be godly! Let our love and loving be based on the truth of God’s word. Acknowledging the greatness of God’s love for us, may we continue growing in loving the God Who Is Love as we continue learning to love His Way!
Have a great day LOVING GOD AND LOVING HIS WAY!
Carl
