Love

Dear Family,

My last message on the fruit of the Spirit was summed up with three main points. That it is necessary and essential for us believers, to grow in the fruit of Spirit because
1) We are known by our fruits,
2) It is evidence that we are really born again and lastly
3) The fruit of the Spirit is permanent.

And God wants us to be fruitful, and to produce a "bumper" harvest! (references given: John 15:5 and Matthew 13:23)

Today I want to share more, on the same verse again.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23)

I will continue my sharing of Galatians 5:22-23, from a perspective on the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.

What is Love?

I am devoting alot more time on love, than the rest of the aspects, simply because love is so important.

The hebrew translation for the word love here, is "agape", which means unconditional, sacrificial love, which reflects the love God has for us, that subjected Him to the cross. It is the highest and most noble form of love, a genuine desire for the well-being of others without strings attached, and putting others before self. Agape love is a love that gives and no taking is involved. God Himself is agape manifested, by the lying down of His life for us, in John 15:12-13.

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:12-13)

The image of God is love. God Himself, is love. The very essence of God, is love. We can see that, very explictly, in 1 John 4:7-8 and 1 John 4:16.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who
loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is
love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1
John 4:16)

It is love when God the Father, draw out the plans for our redemption. It is love when God was compelled to come down to us, in the 1st place. It is love in action, made Jesus endured the sufferings, pains and rejections associated from the cross. It is love, that Jesus rose on the 3rd day, so that He can be the way, the truth, and the life, pointing the way to the Father's hug.

To best sum up this love that God demonstrates for us, we look to the cross, where Jesus died.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:18)

Hence, our only appropriate response to His love, is to love Him back in kind, and love His people in kind. If you have received the love of God, you can't help it but answer back God with our love, and love anothers in response.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

On a more serious note, the same verse in 1 John 4:7-8 says "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" that if you do not have love for one another, then God says "I don't know you."

You might then ask, having agape level of love...is not humanly possible. Well, you are exactly right! Having agape love is humanly impossible....BUT is absolutely Holy Spirit possible. Consider Romans 5:5, which says His love was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, God pours our His love for us. And it is the same Holy Spirit that was given unto us as well! Meaning, we are "empowered" in the same might of the Holy Spirit, to love others with agape love.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5)

And not only that having agape love, is possible, it is a commandment from God to love others, just as He loved us!

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
(John 15:12)

If all the commandments in the Bible can be summarized into a single word, that would be the word "love". Apostle Paul sums up "love" is everything, both in Galatians 5:14, as well as in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as
yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Having love is the single, most important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It is by no concidence that "love" is placed 1st in Galatians 5:22-23. In fact, "love" is a pre-requesite and a foundation for the remaining 8 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Meaning, all the other remaining aspects are spring forth, from love.

I read a statement somewhere that says, "Joy is love exulting. Peace is love resting. Patience is love enduring. Kindness is love with bowed head. Goodness is love in action. Faithfulness is love confiding. Gentleness is love in refinement. Self-Control is love obeying."

Love is supreme. Love also, should be the driving force, behind everything that we do or say. And the bible has a point blank description for those who speak without love, and likens them to be nothing more than a noisy nuisance (a gong or a cymbal).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)

Perhaps the best definitions of love, and a very practical form of it, is found in 1 Corinthians 13, also written by Apostle Paul. As you can expect, the word love in 1 Corinthians 13 means agape love in the hebrew translations.

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are
gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will
cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. (1 Corin13)

Lastly, showing love, involves mainly through actions and deeds, not by pure words alone.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in
truth. (1 John 3:18)

But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes
his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John3:17)

I cannot over emphasis for all of us, to ask God to help us receive love, for the people that will be placed under our care. And to demonstrate that love, through deeds and actions.

Loving other is tough and hard work but when you think and believe that all else fails, just remember...

...Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13)



Serving in love together,

Caleb Wong