The Illumination in the
top left corner is the
copyrighted property of Randy Asplund.
www.randyasplund.com
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"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
Hebrews 12:1
 aith may be the first virtue of the Christian life, but Love is the greatest.
As it says in scripture, "...faith hope and love, and the greatest of these is love". Jesus said that all of the law
and the prophets can be fulfilled by two sentances. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor
as yourself.
Much like the word faith, love has been so over used and so misused that the word has almost lost its meaning. We say we love
cars, food, and sports. We talk about love as a warm, breathless excitement we feel when we're attracted to someone. What is
the love spoken of in the bible?
In the words of Jesus, "no greater love hath any man then that he give up his life for his friend." Love can include many
things such as feelings, but at its center, love is about priority and sacrifice. Love is a term of priority in that to truly
love someone or something, it must be more important to you than other things and it must be considered before other things
(especially including yourself). The bible is clear that God must be the first love of any Christian. This means that God
must be the first priority of your life. Jesus said that if anyone loved even their own family more than they loved him, they
were unworthy of him. This may seem harsh but it makes clear that God will not settle for second place. After loving God
comes the command to love your neighbor as yourself. This command is echoed by the apostles who often spoke in their writings
about putting other people before ourselves. These things are easy to explain but hard to do.
In addition to a matter of priority, the heart of love is self sacrifice. True love is when a person is willing to
sacrifice their own desires, or even their well being for the benefit of someone else. If you truly love someone your actions
must show it. You must act for that person's benefit above your own. Love is often times portrayed as not opposing somone,
however, love can mean to oppose someone if that is what is best for them. Doing evil is never good for someone. We should
try to stop those we love from doing evil, as well as encouraging them to do good. This brings up the next point. Love requires
truth and understanding. If you do not know the truth, or have understanding, it will be difficult for you to love.
Love is a matter of priority and of sacrifice. True love is when we give up of ourselves for the benefit of others. There
are few lessons on love better than that given by Paul in 1st Corinthians chapter 13. If you desire to implement love in your
life, start with the things stated in this chapter.
Faith
Love
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---Because strait is
the gate, and narrow
is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and
few there be that
find it.
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