Love Puts Others First...

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.

Romans 12:10

Love is not only essential to obtaining peace upon this earth; love is also vital in adhering to the will of God… The word of God tells us that we were given a New Commandment regarding love in the gospel of John through the very mouth of Jesus Christ; in this gospel we find these words recorded, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Notice that Jesus says you MUST love one another; loving is not optional or something that we can turn on and off in the body of Christ… When we love we are not just showing kindness to one another; the love spoken of in that portion of scripture speaks to the fact that we are actually put God on display in our very lives as we are told in the bible that God is love…  This kind of love goes beyond a relationship and can even be seen in how we deal with our adversaries… The love you have for someone must be universal to everyone and not just people who show that love back to you; Christ showed this love in coming to the earth for a people who didn’t accept and rejected Him; remember that the word reminds in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us… He didn’t die because of the love you showed Him, but because of the unconditional love that He had for you… This is the principle we must live by, this love is what governs our ability to adhere to God’s command and live out His will… This is the very reason why Paul pens this verse to the Church of Rome and says, be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another. One of the biggest indications of our love for God is manifested in how we love our fellow man… The bible reminds us that God is love; so we showcase if God lives inside of us by the acts of love that we display… Make no mistake about it; one of the biggest areas that we are tested the most is in our dealings with others… God takes love to another dimension and asks that we do the same; you must have a love that will put others first no matter what the outcome may be in your life… Christ endured the pain, beatings and the cross because of a love for a man whom had never loved Him… You have to keep showing love to those who reject you, those who despitefully use you and those who don’t love you… This passage redefines love as we know it today…  I can speak for myself and tell you that there have been many times that people have irked my nerves or even had me contemplating words that should not be uttered from one’s mouth; however, in your Christian walk your relationship with others shows your maturity in Christ… This is not to be taken as though you are to let people walk over you, but that you must come to a point in your life where you can deal with them in a manner that still will edify the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… Think about all the nasty people that Christ encountered on His way to the cross… Insults were hurled in His direction, people spit upon Him; however He did not say a mumbling word… The very acts that were rendered to Christ were unjustified and horrible to say the least; however through His devotion to the will of God not only was His father exalted, but He not sits at the right hand with all power in His hand… This is a prime of example for us to live by and also why Paul pens this verse in His letter to the Church of Rome… We must be kind to one another not only because we are God’s children, but also because we never know what each person we encounter is going through or dealing with…

Countless times people have come to me and said that I encouraged them by my words and then proceeded to tell me that they were having a bad day or going through some trying times… Each person that you encounter can be led to Christ if they don’t know Him or be encouraged in Christ when they felt like giving up…Likewise, if we are not kind to one another, you can detour someone from their walk with God or even give them fuel as to why they don’t need to turn their lives over to Him… Each situation we face is a test… Each trial we face is another opportunity for us to show our faith and for God to manifest His faithfulness… Lift up your fellow man, encourage your neighbor and speak kind words to your enemy… These could be people that have been placed in your path for you to deliver the message of Christ too; these also could be people in your path that will help you when you are down in your spirit or going through trying times… Paul faced a barrage of doubters and questions about His calling because of His past; however, because the Love of God was in him, he helped to found and establish several churches throughout the providence of his surroundings… You will have people enter your life with negative thoughts, you will have people who will try and speak on your past and question your future and it is of the utmost importance that you don’t stoop to their level, but that you stay focused on God’s word and do what Paul tells us 11 verses later in this chapter and that is too, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The enemy wants to turn you from God’s plan, he wants to disconnect you from the will of God, but you must stay the course, don’t allow him to get you thinking in response to negative words or evil intentions… When we focus on the problems that someone has caused we give life to the enemy to break down our thoughts and then detour us from aligning ourselves with the very will of God… This is the very reason why Paul stated in the verses written early in this chapter that we must be “transformed by the renewing of our mind…” Your mind must be focused on the Lord and the way to keep it there is to speak kind words in the face of unkind people…. When we are able to do these things and speak these kind words than we not only have the love of God inside us, but we also are displaying it in our lives… It takes the indwelling spirit of God to love the way we are called to love… This is true because love isn’t defined by the tongue but through the heart and our actions… Love is more than a word, it is more than a phrase (I Love You), and it is definitely NOT define by intimacy. True love is when you think about a person over yourself, true love is when you are willing to go the extra mile when you can stop at any time. To say you love someone means you have embraced that whole person despite their blemishes or faults. To say the word love brings an element of commitment when things aren’t always on the straight and narrow. Many people use that word, but never live the meaning. The word love is defined by Christ in that he preferred us over himself; He went the extra mile on Calvary when He didn’t have too, and He gave His life for a love He had and we didn’t even deserve to receive. That is LOVE; and indeed it is kindly affection!!!!

BE BLESSED!!!