Practice The Love Of Christ

-


DAILY VITAMIN
- Practice The Love Of Christ
"And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. This will result in your hearts being made strong, sinless and holy by God our Father..." (1 Thess 3:12-13 TLB)
      Almost everyone wants to know how a man can grow spiritually; well, in our theme verse Paul tells us how. Apostle Peter had told the Jewish Christians in the Gentile nations to grow in [the] grace and [in the] knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), and as much as every other Christian responsibility we are taught to uphold is great, without walking in love it is all in vain (1 Corinthians 13:2). You see, the Christian was saved by his faith, but is assessed by his works; and every good work is a function of love.
     Jesus said that others will know we are His if we love one another (John 13:35). That’s how much love brings forth the reality of our identity in Christ. Anyway, what Paul said holds the greatest significance here today. In that scripture above, he's telling us that as we begin to walk in the love of God towards others, the strength in spirit to stand strong and to exercise the virtue of holiness overwhelms us the more. It's exactly what John also insinuated. He said "But whoever loves his fellow man is 'walking in the light' and can see his way without stumbling around in darkness and sin" (1 John 2:10 TLB). The love God placed in your heart brews His person out of your everyday life evidently, and so unless we practice it daily, the manifestation of our divine identity may not be revealed in real-time.
      As you walk in His love towards others, you exemplify His very nature; for as the scripture says "Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are children of God, and that they are getting to know Him better" (1 John 4:7 TLB).
      In other words, your spiritual progress is measured in the sight of God by how much you are capable of walking and acting in His love towards others, not by how long you pray or how well you fast (Luke 9:48). It is great when we can pray a mountain to plain level, or to believe our way past situations; however without love, they will amount to little. Prayer is perfected in love, as well as faith- which works by love. So, love is indeed a progressive universal tool from the heart of God and in the hands of men. Hence, don't just stay content with having believed in Christ, personify His love everyday of your life, and not only will it transform your life, you'll transform the lives of as many as you come in contact with.

Confession:
I am a product of God's love. And I have been baptized in His love. So therefore, loving others and loving God come naturally with me. My heart has been exposed to His love, and now I can walk in that same love by the Spirit. I walk in its expression daily, because I've got the love of God resident in me. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you think?

Popular posts from this blog

Giving Generously

-
DAILY VITAMIN  There is a difference between giving and giving generously. Generosity is more than just how much you give, but how hearted you do. What makes the poor fellow rich in the sight of God is how richly he gives even though in need himself. Richly, not in terms of quantity or even quality, nor quantifiable mass, but richly based on how much from the heart it is given. Was the heart rich in compassion, God's love and mercy as it gave? Or was it full of egotism, self-pride and every trait that makes him believe it is all in his power? Remember, a broken heart and a contrite spirit[full of the first traits], God wil not despise (Ps 51:17); and as long as there is a willingness of heart and readiness of mind[spurred by genuine love], it is acceptable towards God (2 Cor 8:11-12). This is why God isn't just crazy in love with any giver, but a cheerful giver. One whose givings start from the heart outward. One who first gives with the heart and reflects it by his hands. Tha
Read more

See It God's Way

-
Image
DAILY VITAMIN - See It God's Way "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 TLB)     Have you ever noticed how at some point in your life when everything seemed to be going AWOL, then all of a sudden something great came out of it all? At least I have seen it happen without number in my life and others'. Well, that's exactly what God does for a living- turning bitter sources into a spring of life.     Just like most of us, one man who had a myriad of experience regarding this has to be David. David once said that he would have fainted if he hadn't believed to see God's goodness in his life. And went ahead in advising us to wait patiently for all God has promised regardless of what we are currently going through (Psalm 27:13-14). And believe me, he knows what he was talking about.     For instance, David had been told he had been chosen by God to
Read more

Desist From Rash Decisions

-
Image
DAILY VITAMIN Decisions made out of anger or envy are not only self destructive, but they also affect the attitude of those we seem not to desire their hurt. For instance, when the sons of Jacob conspired to kill Joseph, to them it was the perfect way to get rid of the 'big dreamer' that made them all look like vision-less fellows, and had taken their father's affection from them; so they took it upon themselves and agreed that they were totally correct in their intended evil action. After they had sold him and feigned his death, they might have believed it had all ended, only to be shocked with the countenance of their father, thereby sentencing themselves to a lifetime of grief and sorrows from the man they honored most- their father Israel. That alone was enough to prick their conscience until they were clouded with the mist of regret. They sought his attention for themselves, but all they created was a deficit to their own loss; thus causing more harm than what warran
Read more

Love Is Where Life Begins

-
Image
DAILY VITAMIN What's the most important thing to you in life? Think for a while before you answer. And you can take as long as it takes. Alright! Are you ready now? Let's continue. In everything you do always remember that love comes before ambition. Most times we get so carried away in climbing the ladder of success that we fail to recognize and notice when there are hands stretching high for us to help lift them up. We so much pursue self-purposed desires that we miss those God sends our way to impact; not that they didn't show up, but that we failed to notice their arrival.  And guess what: Our silver lining of greatness in the sands of time and in the mouth of men is not built by the success we built for ourselves, but by how much success we attained in imparting and influencing people. Any achievement of ours' that has no positive impact on others isn't labeled success, but a self-fulfilled goal; and that's why Mother Teresa wrote 'a life not lived
Read more

Actions Speak Loudest

-
Image
  DAILY VITAMIN - Actions Speak Loudest “Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16 TLB) It was 4:30 p.m., sometime in late January 2015. The students were crowded en masse for Laboratory Practice registrations. Everybody was there; the sleek guys and girls, and the geeks as well. And also there was myself, and my very good friend Earnest. We were both members of the Christian Community on campus; but Earnest was the more vocal kind. Well, on this day, the hall was replete with students and the process slow, but eventually it got to our turn. The Registration Officer (R.O) requested for the required fee and documentation and thus signed me up; however when it was Earnest’s time to get registered, he failed to ask for the fee. Anyway, when we were both done with the process and on our way back home, Earnest softly indicated that we stop for a moment. As we stood there under the canop
Read more