I Love You in the Lord
Whoever you are, I love you in the Lord. A little more than forty-two years ago, at the age of 12, I was born again. I give God thanks for saving me and for providing me with the wonderful assurance that I will be saved. With Jesus’ sacrifice on that Calvary cross, I was able to have the blessed assurance that when I die, I will live forever.
The majority of what the world’s pagan, unconverted people refer to as “love” is actually lust, affection, or self-gratification. Frequently, “love” is just a pretense used to cover up a person’s need-fulfillment desires.
Love does not seek remembrance of transgressions. Without God, it is impossible to love someone sincerely because God is love. God is more needed in the world now than ever!
People in this wicked world are taught to accept each other for who they are—completely ungodly—and to never condemn the immorality or heathen religious beliefs of others. Everyone is acceptable in the world, excluding born-again Christians. The pagan world holds that there are other routes to heaven, despite the unambiguous teaching of John 14:6 in the Bible that Jesus Christ is the ONLY gate to paradise.
The world takes advantage of the truth by disguising its acceptance of evil under the pretext of “love.” Wicked people accuse a devout preacher who believes in the Bible of “lacking love” when he gets up in the pulpit and declares the Word of God, naming false prophets and condemning sin. Nowadays, no one preaches against sin! Nobody alerts sinners to the reality that everyone who rejects Christ will spend eternity in a searing Hell.
Many individuals confuse generosity, friendliness, and a cooperative attitude for love. Even though they might be a statement of affection, these are not love. What then is love? Biblically speaking, God is love. Since God is love, God is the source of all true love. “He that does not love does not know God, for God is love,” says 1 John 4:8. I must submit to God’s Holy Spirit in accordance with the Bible if I am to love you, allowing God’s character—the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit—to come through me to you. A lot of people are clueless about what true “love” is. God is “love” in the truest sense of the word.
Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
I adore every single person who visits our websites. “How can you love someone that you’ve never met?” is a question you may have. That is the essence of the love that God has for everyone. God’s love for us is based on Who He is, not who we are. In the same way, I love you because of Christ in me, regardless of who or what you are in terms of a person. There is nothing you can do to change my love for you!
1st John 4:16, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Interestingly, 1st John 4:16 makes dwelling in love synonymous with dwelling in God. This is why we read in the Book of Matthew…
Matthew 22:35-40, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
These two straightforward commandments—which are simply one—that God gave us are the foundation of the entire Bible: TO LOVE!
Your Brother in Christ
Brother Randy