2 John 1:6 “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
As a Christian, what is the antithesis of Love? John answers that question in this verse. Since the times of the Old Testament we have been instructed to love others. Jesus said we ought to love others as ourselves. The root of a Christian’s outward ministry should be rooted in love. But knowing that we ought to love is not the same as knowing how we should love.
John in this verse shows that the ultimate act of love is walking after the commandments of God. So today’s thought is, “How do we show our love?” By keeping g the commandments of God we show the greatest form of love in three areas:
1) To the Lord – What better way to show our love to the one who saved us than to walk in His commandments. Jesus even said if we love Him to keep his commandments. This practice also demonstrates our submission to God and shows that we truly desire what He desires for us.
2) To our Spirituality – We cannot grow spiritually without a loving the things of God. By keeping his commandments we continually grow and mature into seasoned Christians. Love is at the heart of growing closer to God, and growing closer to God is the only way to increase our spiritual strength.
3) Towards Other – We cannot show love to other Christians or to the lost unless we keep the commandments of God. Anything done outside the Lord is of the flesh and we know that Love is a spiritual gift from the Lord. However, when we keep the commandments of God we demonstrate that we desire what is truly best for others because we desire what God would have for them. Furthermore, by embodying those desires in ourselves we prove that our faith is invested in what we say.
We can only love as Christ showed us love when we conform to the image of Christ. That is accomplished by adhering to his instructions. Sometimes it may seem like we are not showing love to others when we focus on ourselves, but the Lord can make all things work together for the benefits of His children.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
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