love – Page 6 – Be Still…

1 John 2:1-6 – Do You Know God?

I’m so glad John wrote this to us so that we won’t sin! Unfortunately, I don’t think his words can keep us from sinning, it’s not that easy. But his words can make us aware of our sin and what we can do about it. So on the off chance you happen to sin (and you will), we can all be sure that Jesus is ready to save us.

Jesus is portrayed here as our advocate, pleading our case for us. With my legal background, of course, I picture a lawyer in court before the Judge. I have worked on many a case representing the “bad guy” who was still allowed counsel before the judge. What would the sentence be? A good lawyer would make sure the sentence was fair or non-existent in the right circumstances. Jesus pleads not-guilty for us because he, himself is the sacrifice for all sins.

Matthew 22:34-40 – The Greatest Commandment

Read Matthew 22:34-40

The attempts to trap Jesus continue. I’m not sure what the Pharisees expected Jesus to say here to their grilling about the law of Moses. Did they think Jesus wouldn’t know? After all, according to some Biblical scholars there were 613 laws, and it would be common for the rabbis to quarrel among themselves about which was most important.

Jesus didn’t skip a beat. The most important commandment is to love God, and second to that, to love your neighbor as yourself. Well, there’s two of the 613. Jesus explained that when you get those two right, the rest just fall into place.

Matthew 5:43-48 – Love Your Enemies

Read Matthew 5:43-48

It’s easy to love our friends, most of the time. Even friends can get on our last nerve at times. Now imagine being nice to an enemy or someone who has done you wrong? That’s a little harder to picture, much less do. But in a spirit of loving everyone as God does, Jesus is encouraging us to do the same.

As the Old Testament taught us to “love our neighbor,” Jesus came to specify a little who our neighbor was. (More on this in Luke 10, read it HERE.) It had been thought that it was our friends. Folks on the fringes of society or ones who were mean to us would not be our neighbor, so therefore we didn’t need to love them. Jesus wanted to clear that up. God doesn’t show favorites. His blessings are available to everyone.

Romans 12:9-13 – Love is…

Read Romans 12:9-13

Remember the “Love Is..” comics? I wanted to use one for the graphic today but I couldn’t find one that was available for reuse. You’ll have to google that if you don’t remember. Paul continues to lay out some directions for how we should live and what love should look like.

After all, Jesus told us to love one another. That can be a new concept for many. Sometimes it’s hard to even love ourselves. But let’s take a look at what Paul is telling us here.

Hebrews 13:1-5 – Be a Better Lover

Read Hebrews 13:1-5

I hope we all know the most important thing is to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Beyond that, this passage reminds us of others who should receive our affection as well. As our author closes this letter, he wants to remind us all of what should be obvious but often forgotten.

Love one another. That can sometimes be hard. Especially loving those who are hard to love. We all had someone come to mind just now. Maybe it’s the crotchety neighbor or the busybody at church or the obnoxious, loud-mouth co-worker. We are brothers and sisters after all, and we should love each other as family. Love as Jesus loves. Continue reading “Hebrews 13:1-5 – Be a Better Lover”