1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13: 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
John 15:13 (NIV)
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends
As of disciple and as a legacy dad we have to set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We have to set our minds on things above. We have to put to death that which is of earth and its desires.
To understand true love we have to study God's word and build relationships with the Trinity. God the father wants our praise and honor and glory for him. His Son wants a relationship with us because he wants more than just a fan because he died for us and rose again to save us. And he loves us so much that he gave us his Spirit to guide us and direct us in heavenly ways.
To understand love we can try to get a glimpse of it when we serve and love others without expectant wants in return. We can watch children laugh and play. We can have children of our own to begin to understand just how much God loves us. I believe in my heart that is why God gives us children to begin to understand this love.
He wants us to understand that love has no record of wrongs. That is, to say, that when Jesus died on the cross he took all of our broken record and nailed them to that cross. What that means for each and every one of us who are born again is that we are forgiven of past sins, of present sins and of sins to come. God gives us His Spirit to guide us and to lead us on our pathway of sanctification. He calls us to be holy and to pursue His righteousness. When we sin, we are called to forgive our brothers and to confess our sins to one another.
This is the road map to unconditional love.
When we love our neighbors as our-self we are putting the 2nd greatest commandment to practice. To love our neighbor as ourselves. We are called to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and then to love our neighbor.
Who is our neighbor:
- Our family
- Our wives
- Our kids
- Our literal neighbors
- The lost
- The saved (our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus)
If you cannot forgive and you cannot love like this then we are called to examine ourselves to see if we are in the Faith. To see if we are called to be his chosen.
What fruit are you bearing? Is the peace of Christ and his love evident in your life? If not, how then can we justify scripture in our lives? We cannot.
Forgive as we have been forgiven.
Love as we have been loved. For love has no greater friend then one who lays down his life for us (Jesus did this for you and me). Now tell me how we cannot do that for our wives? For our kids? For our neighbors, communities and churches.
In all that you do seek first the Kingdom, love like we are loved and move to his wants and desires for our lives.
Of all that we do never forget Love.
Blessings,
Dante