It’s required! In the Word
4-16-18
He has shown you, O man, what is
good; and what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to
walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
In the past year I
have read this scripture over and over and been wondering why. Today while
studying out a scripture I had read earlier I found an answer, or at least a
beginning to understanding.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who
loves another has fulfilled the law. For the
commandments, “You
shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You
shall not bear false witness,” “You
shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment,
are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is
the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed. The
night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:8-14
Salvation is free, but God does
require something of us; to walk in His love. It’s pretty simple, and kind of a
catchy phrase, right? Not always; sometimes it is hard to love the unlovely. But
over all in order to love others, the ones who smell nice or the ones who are
sitting on the road begging for bread money; we need to know what real love is
and walk in it.
In order to know love we have to know Christ; for God is
love.
Be ye
therefore followers of God, as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
savour. But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints; Ephesians 5:1-3
Once we know who Love is, then we can figure out the need to
love others… and of course then we learn that we need to love one another as
Christ loves us. Did you think what that means? If we love others as Christ
loved us it is not just loving them unconditionally but also to the full
extent. In other words; put the other people before our own needs, desires, and
wishes. That is what Jesus did after all.
So now I am giving you a new commandment:
Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples.” John13:34-35
Of course that doesn’t mean the people who
are ‘jerks’ right? You know the ones who are mean to us for no reason at all? I
mean, they are being used by “the enemy”… right?
Do
we really have to love them too? Yes. Jesus Himself said the following.
But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44
Okay so let’s check this out; we love God, we love one
another, we love our enemies and the jerks that cut us off on the freeway… then
what? Just how far does this required subject go? We also have to love the
people who are condescending,
The teacher of religious law
replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is
only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love
him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love
my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt
offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” Realizing how much the man
understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the
Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared
to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:32-34
So we still have to love them; we do not have to love their
behaviors. Jesus loves us all but that does not mean he condones their foolish
or evil and selfish behaviors. He encourages us to love one another and to do
good to the people who are not the same mind as us; in this we are walking in
Love, and it will give us freedom that is amazing because it is what God wants
us to do. It is amazing when you choose to do the right thing, to do the thing
God wants you to do in a situation that seems way too hard, or not something
you want to do. There is a feeling of peace that comes over you when it is
done. Sometimes they will still be ‘jerks’ but when you know that you did the
right thing regardless of the outcome… its just awesome!
I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate
you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers
and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead,
use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the
whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.”
Gal. 5:12-14
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving others through
us and allowing us to be the vessel, and for requiring us to be a vessel of
your love to those in our lives. Help us to follow after your plan for us and
walk in Your Love. In Jesus Name, amen.