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Reduce Me to Love: Unlocking the Secret for Lasting Joy 1
Where does love fit into your list of priorities? Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you…(John 13:34 NKJV). It seems to me that Jesus was saying love is the main thing on which we should concentrate. The apostle Paul stated that… faith, hope, love abide… but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). | ||||||||
Love should be number one on our spiritual priority list. We should study love, pray about love and develop the fruit of love (according to Galatians 5:22,23, one of the nine fruit of the Spirit available to those in whom Gods Holy Spirit lives) by practicing loving others. God is love, so when we walk in His love we abide in Him. Because we walk in God's love by receiving and expressing it, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can love God while we hate other people. (See 1 John 4:20.) Love is the greatest thing in the world. It is the best thing to commit our life to, to seek to excel in. We seek many things in the course of our lifetime. We hope to find fulfillment in each one, but most of them fall short of the desired goal. When we put our time and energy into things that do not fulfill us, we feel frustrated. It took me about forty-five years to realize that my priorities were mixed up and that I was not making love the main thing in my life. It was not my first priority. The commitment to learn how to walk in love has been the single best decision I have ever made as a Christian. Love not only blesses others; it also blesses the one doing the loving. Concentrating on being a blessing to others has brought me joy. I find it exciting. It challenges me. All of us must become students of love; we must pray that God will reduce us to love. FAITH WORKS BY LOVE
We are normally taught that faith is the pinnacle of Christian virtues. We study it, try to exercise it, preach sermons on it, write books about it and encourage one another in it all the time. Faith is vital; without it we cannot please God. (Hebrews 11:6.) Faith is not the price that buys the blessings of God, but it is the hand that receives them. “By grace, through faith” is how the blessings of our Lord and Savior come to His children. (Ephesians 2:8 KJV.) Faith is very important, and yet according to 1 Corinthians 13:2 if we have enough faith to move mountains and have not love, we are nothing. Galatians 5:6 says faith works (is energized) by love. Knowing the love of God for us as individuals, and learning to allow His love to flow through us to others, is the power behind faith. How can we place faith in God unless we are assured He loves us? How can we ask God to help us, and have confidence He will do so, if we are mistreating others? Our personal love walk gives us confidence before God and enables us to receive from Him what we ask for in prayer. (1 John 3:18-23.) Love is also a distinguishing characteristic of the disciples of Christ. (John 13:35.) LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
We need to show the world Jesus. We do that by walking in His love-the love of the Father that was first revealed and expressed in His Son Jesus and is now manifested in us: Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Jesus Himself taught on love and walked in love. He said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” (John 14:9.) The world is looking for something real, something tangible. They are looking for love, and God is love. (1 John 4:8.) Many people have gone to church looking for God and have been met with the rules and regulations of religion. After encountering some of the Christians who “talk the talk” but who did not “walk the walk,” they left without encountering God. Instead of drawing them in, many people's experience with churches and Christians has driven them away. The fields are … white already to harvest, (John 4:35 KJV), but the Lord needs laborers. (Luke 10:2 KJV.) He needs Christians who are committed to developing the character of Jesus Christ in their own lives. According to 2 Corinthians 5:20, you and I are Christ's ambassadors-His personal representatives. The Lord is making His appeal to the world through us. As previously stated, Jesus said that it is by love that all men will know who His disciples are:
Love is the trademark (distinctive sign or characteristic) of the Christian. Before we purchase something we like to check its quality. As we shop, we read labels or we look for certain trademarks (brand names) that have a reputation for being good. That is what people should be able to do with us as disciples of Christ. They should be able to identify us not only by our talk, but also by our walk. I want people to think of me as someone who loves them. I want to make them thirsty (have a strong desire) for God. I want to be a light in their dark places. There was a time when I wanted to be known as a powerful minister, a person who was successful and popular. I finally came to realize that true power and success is love.
Copyright © 2000 by Joyce Meyer About the Author JOYCE MEYER has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in full-time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than fifty inspirational books, including How to Hear from God, Knowing God Intimately, and Battlefield of the Mind. She has also released thousands of teaching cassettes and a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. More by Joyce Meyer |
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