Love Above All
Theresa Griffith, Camarillo, CA
We know these famous words from Bob Jones, "Did you learn to love?" We know it's the key to the Christian life, but do we recognize the subtle ways our love gets disabled? Do we recognize when our lives are contrary to the law of love?
We are about to embark on the most exciting time of our lives and the most brutal time of our lives. In fact, if we thought the last election was ugly, it was nothing compared to what this next one will be like. Can we rise to the occasion with the love necessary to change the atmosphere? I believe we can, but that we must start now with a plan and a promise.
The Plan
"Let's determine to spread the law of love like a never-ending stream with every thought and every action, toward everyone we meet, including those who wrong us."
One of the ways we can prepare our hearts for the days ahead is to do a checklist of our arsenal for the coming war. In order to be a good soldier, you have to understand all the aspects of the armor. Most people think of self-protection when they think of armor, but if we take a closer look, we find out it's also protection against our own potential violation of the law of love.
The Armor of God
Eph. 6:10-17, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power [strong in Him, strong in His ways and in His love]. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes [game plans, plots]. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [each other, or the one who hurt you], but against the rulers, against the authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth [accuracy and facts about everything, including offenses] buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness [law-abiding, blamelessness] in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel [Good News] of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [his temptation to not follow the guidelines of the Word]. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God [find out what it says to do about the disagreements we have with each other]." (emphasis mine)
The Promise
We all know very well that our most important weapon is love, but do we hold ourselves closely to that guideline or are there times we ignore it because we're angry, and feel justified in laying love aside for a moment?
2 Cor. 10:4, "We use God's mighty weapons [the law of love], not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments." (emphasis mine)
2 Cor. 10:5, "Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
The Accuser of the Brethren
The accuser of the Brethren is one of our biggest and most hidden challenges. We are so focused on the obvious evils in society, that often we allow the accuser to slip in so easily and sway our thoughts about each other. We get caught up in the offense of the moment and then our spiritual sight and understanding are darkened to the guidelines we think we know so well. (Photo via Unsplash)
1 Pet. 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour [feast on or demolish]." (emphasis mine)
2 Cor. 2:11, "Lest satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices [tricks]" (emphasis mine). Aren't we ignorant to satan's tricks when he is successful in getting us to turn on each other?
Slander is a tool of the accuser of the Brethren (see Rev. 12:10). The word "slanderer" in 1 Timothy 3:11 is the same word for "devil." When we slander someone, we are acting like satan does. We are mirroring his character. How can we think we can have intimacy with the Lord when, at the same time, we are going against His Word, when we refuse to go to our brother or sister who has wronged us or who we have heard has wronged us?
Ps. 101:5 (NKJV), "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy..."
1 Cor. 13:7-8 says that love believes the best in all, its kind and it never fails. 1 Cor. 13:7 (The Contemporary English Version) says: "Love is always supportive, loyal..."
Honoring Our Father in Front of the World
"Most people think of self-protection when they think of armor, but if we take a closer look, we find out it's also protection against our own potential violation of the law of love."
Lk. 6:27 (NKJV), "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."
Jhn. 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Matt. 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
1 Pet. 4:8, "And above all things have fervent love [intense, passionate, committed] for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'" (emphasis mine)
When we are offended or hear slander about someone, do we follow Scripture or just believe it because it sounds believable? One side sounds right until you hear the other side (see Prov. 18:17). The laws of our land follow the principle of "innocent until proven guilty." It is a legal concept which guarantees that the guilt of an accused person cannot be presumed. Do we practice this? Do we think it's optional?
Matt. 18:15, "If your brother or sister sins, go to THEM and talk it out, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over" (emphasis mine). This is the protocol that will cause us to win the war against love. We are stronger together and in the coming days we will have to learn how to stand together, no matter how hard it may be at times. We must stand as good soldiers of the Cross and follow the manual, the marching orders of our King, or we won't win the battle. We will either win it together or not at all.
Last year I went through one of the most hurtful things of my life, but I pursued reconciliation, not once, but for 5 months. Finally, I won my friend back. In the end, she said it had nothing to do with me and that I had not done anything wrong. I will never be sorry I made the extra effort.
I know there are times when we do all the right things and yet, we can't win the offended party, but we still have an obligation to our Lord to do everything in our power to mend the relationship. Rom. 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live at peace with all men."
How does the Lord feel about our offenses between each other? Ps. 133:1, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!"
Aren't we members of one Body? What happens to you, affects me. Do we really understand the depth of this? How can we choose to turn on a part of our own body? It's like harming or cutting off a part of ourselves. 1 Cor. 1:10, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (Photo via Pixabay)
Yes, people fail us; they make big mistakes. WE make big mistakes! We all do. So let's give one another the same grace we would like to receive when we fail our brothers and sisters. Only then will we be strong enough to stand against the onslaught of the enemy that is coming and increasing from now until long after the next election.
I've seen enough hate to last the rest of my life, how about you? Let's determine to spread the law of love like a never-ending stream with every thought and every action, toward everyone we meet, including those who wrong us. It's the only way we're going to win the world, but it's also the only way we're going to survive as a nation and as the Church of Jesus Christ in the continuing war against love. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Theresa Griffith
SomeOne Believes in You
Email: hope@someonebelievesinyou.org
Website: www.someonebelievesinyou.org
Theresa Griffith is a speaker, teacher and certified destiny coach with prophetic, one of a kind therapeutic treatments that help people get unstuck in life; whether physical, emotional or spiritual. She has devoted her life to bringing relief to people who suffer. As an international flutist, vocalist and therapeutic music specialist, Theresa is known worldwide for her healing concerts and music for Autism, ADHD, pain and stress, insomnia, Hospice, birthing and more. She is known for scientifically based recordings at 55-60 beats per minute which lower the heart rate and blood pressure facilitating better sleep, digestion, mental clarity and a deep state of peace. Theresa's signature therapy, the Destiny Accelerator, is her own creation and includes seven different therapy approaches with techniques that are one of a kind in the world.
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