rumitoid

What proceeds below is a copy and paste from a link I lost. Essentially, it agrees with the Beatles: "all we need is love." Over many decades as a Christian, I have been surprised and disappointed at how many appear to resist giving love centrality in faith, emphasizing scripture, theology, creeds, statements of beliefs, traditions, or wh**ever instead. Odd. One of the thing I heard over and over: "It is fine to think about God's love but don't forget his justice." God is love, his justice proceeds from love. All of God's character has love at its core and impetus.


Believers living under the New Testament have one commandment, which is to love as Jesus loved.

By keeping this one commandment we fulfill all other commandments given to stop sin.

JOHN 15:12 NKJ
12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
JOHN 13:34 NKJ
34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
1 JOHN 3:23 NKJ
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

One command summarizes God's will -- yet there are many aspects or outworkings of it.
Divine Love A Sign Of Divine Life

1 JOHN 3:10,14-15 NKJ
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
15 Whoever h**es his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Natural, unregenerate humans do not have the ability to love as Jesus loved. We must have God's life in us to manifest God's love through us.
ROMANS 5:5 NKJ
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
1 JOHN 4:7-8 NKJ
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
JOHN 13:35 NKJ
35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Love Fulfills The Law

GALATIANS 5:14 NKJ
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
ROMANS 13:9-10 NKJ
9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

How Love Acts
The opposite of walking in divine love is not only walking in h**e -- but walking in selfishness.

1 JOHN 3:16-18 NKJ
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in t***h.
EPHESIANS 4:31-5:2 NKJ
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
1 Therefore be followers of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Love is the nature of God. He desires for us to be like He is.
Love Should Control Us

2 CORINTHIANS 5:14 NKJ
14 For the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
1 CORINTHIANS 14:1 NKJ
1 Pursue love . . . .
1 JOHN 5:3 NKJ
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
2 JOHN 1:6 NKJ
6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Without Love You Are Nothing

1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-3 NKJ
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love Explained

1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7 NKJ
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the t***h;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love Produces Victory

1 CORINTHIANS 13:8 NKJ
8 Love never fails . . . .
1 JOHN 2:10-11 NKJ
10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But he who h**es his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
GALATIANS 5:6 NKJ
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Conclusion
1 JOHN 4:19-21 NKJ
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Not by human willpower but by abiding in the tree of life.

The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation. The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain his salvation. The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct that he thinks need to be observed. Let’s examine each one more closely. Excessive and improper use of the law.

We receive our salvation by faith (Eph. 2:8-9), not by our ability to be good because no one does good (Rom. 3:10-12). As Rom. 3:28, 4:5, and Gal. 2:21 clearly show, we are justified by faith, not by faith and works. Furthermore, there are strict warnings about attempting to keep the law in order to maintain salvation: Gal. 3:10, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” And James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” So, if a person is seeking to be either saved by his works (Law) or maintain his salvation by his works (Law), then he is under obligation to keep all of it, and if he does not then he is guilty before God. Furthermore, consider Jesus’ words in Matt. 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Jesus condemns them because they were appealing to their salvation based on their faith and doing good. So it should be obvious that we do not keep our salvation by our efforts.

rumitoid

True Love described:
Love does not sacrifice, for it gives freely of all it has out of abundance, without any loss or pain.

Love does not know patience, for it resides in the eternal and only knows the moment as an end, having nowhere better to be.

Love takes no thought for itself, what it may eat or drink.

There are three types of love:
1. Unconditional
2. Unconditional
3. Unconditional
...and numerous forms of expression, such as friend, brother, father, and so forth.

Love sees each moment as a blessing and privilege to serve, the best and holiest thing that could happen.

Love has nothing to lose or gain.

Love cares nothing about success and failure.

Love is without want, need, or desire...but fully passionate.

Love gives without expectation of return or reward, acceptance or approval.

Love has nothing about self to defend or promote.

Love is not an emotion but a state of being at-one spirit with God.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

From the song. "love one another right now"

If you can't love at least don't h**e.

Can we find it in our hearts to put up with each other?

Worried for our children Loc: Massachusetts

I love YOU rumi !!!!!!

Worried for our children Loc: Massachusetts

I love YOU rumi !!!!!!

Duckie

Impressive work! I have an idea about God that may not sit well with people. I too believe that the world needs more compassion and love. But, let us not put it all on God's shoulders. God has a plan and everything will fit within his plan. Just simple fact.

I can tell you what God is not. He is not a penny bank for us to pray to for money. He does not send an angle to bail us out when we mess up. He is the past, the present and future. He know everything, to include what is really inside our hearts and our intentions.

He gave us laws to live by and we know what is right and wrong, and it is up to each of us to decide if we want to live up to the standards He provided. We can elect to do only what makes us comfortable and happy, or we can do the harder thing and live to a higher standard. And If you can be honest with yourself, then you will admit that you and almost every human that walks the earth do not live to His standards all the time.

I have watched Christians thump their bibles, proclaim their state of grace; even here on OPP. Then those very same people dip to low levels of calling other people foul names, calling others stupid, and try to undermine their belief systems because they do not equal theirs standards. Mind you, not the standards of the laws God gave us, but the standards of the mortal men and women alive and participating in everyday life. Yes, even you. How many times have you become so angry that you lash out at other posters? Is that your standard of love and tolerance? And for those who support a******n, but claim that it is wrong to segregate people because of the color of their skin. Does the standards allow for destruction of life because it is an unwanted pregnancy, but it is not okay to not support those who refuse to work? And this is just the tip of the double standards we apply. War is okay, as long as it is not on American shores. The death camps and the total elimination of entire races is okay, as long as they are not a protected minority living in the US. But, all we need is love, well tell that to the people that practice jihad.

I think that one day God will look at his creation, and as He has done in the past, he will completely eliminate this edition of creation and perhaps He will try again to create gentle, loving, compassionate, thinking and obedient creation that He can feel proud to look at all the time.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

What an outstanding post. I wish I read the things that you must read to have read this. It is too bad that on this site and others just like it the people just don't seem to love as we should. Thanks for the post, now lets see how many people take the trouble to read it and try to understand how many times that word showed up in the Bible.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Very Good research. I pray it is viewed by many.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

Jeremiah 29:13

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

But rumitoid's post listed so many other books with the mention of love in them.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

My reference it not about love. My verse is in response to Armageddun's comment on prayer.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

We haven't talked for a while.
2 Peter 3:18

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

Try 2 Peter 3:9-13

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

For grace, Acts 15:11

Duckie

Thank you. My Uncle and I talked about what is expected and what is most important. He told me a story that I will pass on to you. It goes like this:

According to the Talmud, a man challenged Hillel, one of Judaism’s most revered sages and the highest ranking jurist from 31 BCE through 9 CE, to teach him the whole Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. The term Torah is best known to non-Jews as the Jewish name for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. But the word literally means “instruction” and it can refer to the entire body of Jewish teachings as it does here. Hillel responded, “What is h**eful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it."