It may be said as we end a conversation on the phone or say our good byes. We have heard that phrase used between friends and relatives expressing appreciation and admiration for one another. Hopefully, the words are honest and meaningful, but we know that declared love is not always followed by demonstrated love. The perfect love of God is more than just words declared to mankind. God demonstrated that love proving His declaration of unconditional love for the human race. This love comes from within His Person and is extended freely to us. It is not difficult to love the lovely, but the Scriptures tell us that God loved us when we were unlovely. The Apostle Paul states --
… “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”(Rom 5:8 NASB)
It was that supernatural love that motivated Christ to go to the Cross so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life. His finished work satisfied God’s righteousness and in Christ we are personally loved by the Father. That truth places upon us, who by faith claim Christ, to love one another in the same manner in which we are loved by God. That is a tall order and one that we can not fulfill in our own strength. A walk with the Lord by means of the Spirit and a consistent diet of spiritual food (Bible teaching) are necessary if we are to love as Christ loved. The words of our Lord are very clear --
… “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”(John 13:34 KJV)
When we love as He loved, we find ourselves having inner peace and a compassionate attitude toward those around us. Evil is not returned with evil. Hatred is not returned with hatred. Animosity is returned with kindness and bitterness is replaced with an attitude of forgiveness and grace. It is easy to declare love but more difficult to consistently demonstrate the love of Christ. Yet that demonstrated love is the very means by which God draws mankind to Himself through the witness of a Christian’s life. It is a challenge for us to fulfill the love mandate but the results are rewarding.
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”(John 13:35 KJV)
To the sound of its voice
Cast your eyes upon its beauty and it
Will fill your soul with
Joy
Be entangled in the beauty of its reality and it
Will let you know that it is more than a
Notion
With gentleness, kindness, patience, forgiveness and purity it
Reigns supreme above every
Emotion
Without saying a word it is well
Spoken
It is in its wisdom that it completes your knowledge and
Understanding of all things in life, and gives you comfort in
The confidence that it has placed in you
Heart
With open arms it shows the magnitude of its
Affection
With loving care it keeps you moving in the right
Direction
With its multitude of expressions and infinite number of
Fashions
It is blessed with well pleasing in
Giving the fullness of its
Compassion
It is the master of healing the broken hearted and the
Uplifting of the spirit broken
It is with kind mercy and beautiful grace and its
Gentle Touch
That we are shown the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ and the
Beauty of His Love