Love by R. H. Clark (Ron Clark)
Let’s looks at the “agape” or brotherly love of the Bible.
Love for fellow Christians and our brothers. No matter the degree of relationship, Christ calls us to have “agape” love for the other person. This means consideration for their best interest, especially their salvation.
Let’s define ‘brother’ as Jesus defined him; our brother is the whole world. Remember Matt. 22:37 calls for us to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Principle 8 from Celebrate Recovery says to “Yield ourselves to God and bring the ‘Good News’ to others.” The “Good News” is salvation through Jesus Christ and for floundering Christians it is the “recovery” of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Every step we’ve taken is about growing our faith in God and we want our faith to live within us.
(Celebrate Recovery is a Christ centered, 12 step program)
James 2:17 warns us, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Carrying the message, the “Good News” is the action or works. Action feeds our faith; it is evidence of our living faith in God. We have faith in God, so even if witnessing frightens us we carry the Word in obedience to our Savior. As you carry the message you will grow to care about the salvation of total strangers and their spiritual welfare. As your caring grows so grows the character of Christ within you and then other changes begin to take place.
First of all, fear begins to fade.
Thankfully, love drives out fear. Fear is the source of anxiety, anger, resentments, fatigue, and often ill health. Fear raises your blood pressure, your hunger response, and blood sugar. As your fear fades, these problems will begin to fade as well.
As your desire to carry the “Good News” grows, your dependence upon God the Holy Spirit grows as well. You depend on God to keep you in His will and you depend on the Holy Spirit for daily guidance. It follows that you will go back to God’s word, the Bible, to learn more about Him.
This is the goal of any service we perform in the name of Jesus. Not only do we carry the “Good News” on our tongues, we carry it within the very example of how we live and serve.
Do Everything In Love
In 1 Corinthians 16:14 it says, “Do everything in love.” If your actions are motivated by and performed in love, your brothers will see that very love which is modeled after Jesus.
L—love God first
O—open up to healthy relationships
V—verify your love through works
E—embrace service
Luke 8:16-18 tells us, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.”
How you live shows what you believe, you can’t hide it. Let your life show your love and your faith.
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