Imitate His Love

Being a visual learner, I need a word picture.      When I see the ocean, I think of God's love.    God's love is deep, wide.      He loves us with the same love that He loves His beloved Son, completely. (John 17:23)  We are His children.  (I John 3:1)

Amazing!   As sinners, we deserve death. Yet, His perfect Son willingly died on the cross, so we might have life.   We received what we did not deserve.   This is love.   (I John 4:10)


What does this mean for us?  

John 15:12   
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

We must love others in the same way God loves us.    Generously and unconditionally.

Freely you have received, freely you must give.  (Matthew 10:8)

Who is sufficient for these things?  (2 Cor 2:16)
Paul says we are not.    In our own strength, we can not genuinely love others.

But, there is hope.   God is love and He lives in us.    God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.   (Romans 5:5)    When we ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit and love others through us, He will!!!   (I John 5:14-15)

Beloveds, be quick to confess your inability to love, and by faith, ask God to love others through you.

And when you do, you will become as a fragrant tree of life to those around you.
(Ephesians 5:1-2; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Warning:

Sometimes, loving others the way Christ loves you will be challenging.   Some people will sin against you; repeatedly.

Memorize and meditate on Romans 12:9-21. 

These scriptures will give you the power you need to obey God.

We are commanded to love others, even our enemies.
We must be holy as God is holy, merciful as he is merciful, and perfect as he is perfect.  (MH?)

Jesus loved us, undeserving sinners, with free and generous love.     Paul says, "imitate His love".   

Let this be your prayer:

I Thes 3:12

"...may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for ALL".....

Beware of Suckers

In botany, suckers are a secondary shoot produced from the base of a woody plant that gives rise to a new plant.  (thefreedictionary.com)

Suckers are typically undesirable, because they absorb the nutrients from the host plant.   Consequently, the plant bears limited fruit.   

How does this relate to becoming a tree of life?

Do we have suckers?    We do.    They are called idols.    The idols of our heart are like suckers on a tree.   Just as a tree's energy is diverted to the sucker, the Christian's energy is diverted to the idol.  

So, what is an idol?

Typically, we think of idolatry as some bizarre practice from ancient times.    However, idolatry is much more than that.

Freedictionary.com gives this definition:   one that is adored, often blindly or excessively.

Excellent description!

We are blind to our idols, because our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick.   (Jer 17:9)   Our hearts try to convince us we are doing nothing wrong.    We may even justify our idols by saying they are for the glory of God.

Excessive, because we tend to have an inordinate love for our idols.   They absorb our time, our energy, our money, and even our emotional well being.

In short, idols suck the life out of us!  

Tim Keller has this to say about idols:

“It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “codependency” but it is really idolatry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” (Taken from Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods)

Beloveds, ask God to search your heart and see if there be any "suckers" in your life.     If God brings something to mind, yank it out from the roots!

But beware, if you yank it out, it will come back.    Someone once said:   Our hearts are idol factories.    It's so true.    We think we're rid of them, only to find them reappear out of nowhere.    Idols cling to us and we cling to them.     Our hearts don't easily let go!  

So, what is the answer?

Daily, moment by moment, we must offer up our idols.    It's not a one time thing.   Confess it every time you become aware of your sin.   And then walk by faith in the Son of God, who loves you and gave Himself up for you.   (Gal 2:20)    His blood covers that sin.

If it continues to be a struggle, get accountability from a mature believer.    Stubborn sins loose their power when we confess to others.     (James 5:16; Ps 66:18-20)


Idolatry in our hearts will lead to a barren waste land.    Be wise and stop serving idols, so that you may bear fruit for all eternity.