Written by Lee Stevenson, sorry I am not the best editor.
Love is the law. It is not a command but a law. Commands in the bible were to be obeyed, but the laws had a higher meaning because not only were they to be obeyed but they were revealing a quality about God that we should try to imitate. Laws are commands but also carry a quality of God with them meaning if we want to imitate God then we need to make that a quality we have.
Things we must do to fulfill the law of love. The bible tells us that out of faith , love and hope love is the greatest of them. One of the fruits of the spirit is Love so being able to love is a gift from God. The bible tells us to love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.
The bible tells us love does not look for it’s own interest, and does no wrong to anyone. The bible tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to love our enemies. Anyone can love those who love them. But we need to imitate God’s example. He loved man so much he gave his only begotten son as a ransom for man. This provided a way for our sins to be forgiven and those who died could be resurrected. Would we have enough love that we would give our life for another as Jesus did? God did not force Jesus to give his life for us he did it willfully.
Love hates what is bad but we do not hate the person. So if someone wrongs us we can hate what they do but we are not to hate them. Jesus instructed us to forgive our enemies and pray for them. If they are hungry or thirsty to provide for them.
In 1 Corinthians the bible gives a perfect description of love. (1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. 6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.) When someone wrongs us, we should not get provoked easily. God was very very patient with Israel and they wronged him many times. He gave them time to correct their error before he punished them for not repenting. Love endures all things I have found is very true. I have learned to love everyone even my enemies and with all the corruption and bad going on whenever someone wrongs me, it still hurts, it is frustrating and may make us angry but by forgiving them we are showing our love and it prevents us holding onto those negative emotions which can drag us down. Love does not look out for it’s own interest. Again anything we do for others cannot top what God and Jesus have done for man. So we should do our best to look out for the interest of others. Studies have shown people who are selfish and only look out for themselves and their own interest have high rates of mental illness , especially depression.
The bible says God is love and Jesus stated he only did what he saw his father do. So he perfectly reflected God’s image. So if we do our best to imitate Jesus then we will know what love is. There were times love had to take corrective actions. God disciplined those he loves. Just as children are disciplined so they will not ruin their own lives or harm themselves God disciplines those he loves. So when someone is doing something that we care about that would displease God wouldn’t it be the loving thing to do if we let them know what God would want them to do and take appropriate action based on their response and how God would want us to react? If they repent we are to forgive them. If they continue in their sin then the bible tells us to hand them over to Satan. In other words we should not associate with them and we should be careful in our dealings with them. Our love for God and Jesus must come first.
My favorite part about love is not even death can separate us from the love of Jesus and the love of God.
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need.
Galations 5:14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Galations 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Romans 18:8 Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others—never finish paying that! For if you love them, you will be obeying all of God’s laws, fulfilling all his requirements. 9 If you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself you will not want to harm or cheat him, or kill him or steal from him. And you won’t sin with his wife or want what is his, or do anything else the Ten Commandments say is wrong. All ten are wrapped up in this one, to love your neighbor as you love yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need.
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Matthew 5:43 “There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. 46 If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. 47 If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Proverbs 17: 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
(Hebrews 12:4-6) 4 In your struggle against that sin, you have never yet resisted to the point of having your blood shed. 5 And you have entirely forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not belittle the discipline from Jehovah, nor give up when you are corrected by him; 6 for those whom Jehovah loves he disciplines, in fact, he scourges everyone whom he receives as a son.”
(Proverbs 3:11, 12) 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of Jehovah, And do not loathe his reproof, 12 For those whom Jehovah loves he reproves, Just as a father does a son in whom he delights.
(Romans 8:36-39) . . .” 37 On the contrary, in all these things we are coming off completely victorious through the one who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers 39 nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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