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Loving God with an Undecaying Love

22 Apr
Loving God with an Undecaying Love

I’m continuing in my series about our love for God. In my last post I talked about the spiritual fragrance of that love. We are to portray the same aroma as Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians 6:24 NIV

In this verse Paul tells us that there’s grace available to all who love Christ with an undecaying love. The problem is that we live in a world bound by decay. Everything runs down. We see it all around us.

Here we’re told that our love for God should not decay. How is that accomplished?

When a satellite is put into orbit, it immediately starts to decay. Eventually it will fall to earth and burn up in the atmosphere. That is, unless it uses power (thrusters) to maintain the orbit.

Where do we find the power to keep our love for God strong? Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of Scripture was.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Mark 12:30 NIV

It turns out that these are the four thrusters that keep our love in orbit around God. These are not four separate issues – they overlap in some areas. We have to understand that our walk with God is not based upon a single issue. Everything we do affects everything else.

First of all, I must love God with all my heart. You have a body, soul, and spirit. Your soul is who you are. Within your soul is your mind, which is the storage area for all of your experiences.

Also within your soul is your heart. You can look at your heart as the garden, full of good soil. It’s where the spiritual seed that you plant grows. Please understand, whatever you plant in your heart will grow – good or bad.

Within your heart are your intentions, it shows where you’re headed. What you place into your heart is where you’re going to end up eventually. It doesn’t matter what your mind thinks. Your heart sets the direction for your life.

That’s the importance of loving God with your heart.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5 NIV

Here’s where the power comes from for this thruster. God doesn’t just pour His love into our hearts. He uses the channel of the Holy Spirit. If I don’t give the Holy Spirit permission to pour into my life, then it’s not going to happen. If I spend time with the Spirit, then I get the reward.

The second thing Christ said was that I must love God with all my soul. As I’ve said, my soul is who I am. It’s the soul that’s the authority over my flesh. It’s the soul that decides to answer the demands of the spirit vs. the flesh.

If my heart is positioned to love God, then it’s that much easier for the soul to come into agreement. That’s because the soul has to do something that goes against its very nature.

John 15:13 NIV

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

What is your life? Many are more willing to die for Christ than to live for Him. How much of your money would you give up? How much of your time would you give up? How many of your plans would you give up? These are the issues of your soul.

What are you willing to put down in order to fulfill His plan? It’s easy to see that if God doesn’t have your heart, he won’t get your soul. Where your heart is, your treasure is. People are willing to lay everything down in search of treasure. Is God your treasure?

I’ll continue this in my next post.

Question; How far are you willing to go for Christ?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2026 in Encouragement, Spiritual Walk

 

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God’s Covenant – Love Vs Law

08 Apr
God’s Covenant – Love Vs Law

Lately I’ve been talking about God’s covenant of love. If we’re to love Him, we must first know His love. This is not a covenant of convenience or need. It’s a commitment to participate in each other’s lives.

In this post, I want to talk about covenant.

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’

Acts 3:25 NIV

Most Christians don’t understand what covenant they’re in. Today’s teachings in the modern church are so mixed up. We get into arguments over the Sabbath and graven images.

The fact is that whenever covenant taught in the New Testament, it’s in relation to Abraham. We’re always called the children of Abraham, not Israel.

You have to understand that Abraham was given the covenant of love. This brings up a number of questions. What do we as believers follow? What’s the place of the law? How about the Ten commandments?

In talking about the people of Israel, Paul says…

Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.

Romans 9:4b NIV

Wait a minute, according to this verse the covenant and the law are two separate things. Wasn’t the law the last covenant?

Paul explains it this way.

What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.

Galatians 3:17 NIV

We have to understand that the law didn’t replace Abraham’s covenant. When the law was given, the covenant of Abraham was remodeled. Why is that?

What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.

Galatians 3:19 NIV

The law was not a new covenant. It was added to the covenant to remodel it. You could say that the law was an addendum to the covenant of Abraham.

This is because Abraham didn’t need laws to serve God. He was called a friend of God (James 2:23). The word used for friend meant an emotional love for God. Abraham liked being with God.

This shows me that a covenant of love needs no rules. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph also liked being with God. You can tell by their lives they had an “Anything for you, Lord” attitude.

However, as time went on, eventually the children of Israel lost that friendship. Because of transgressions – the constant breaking of the covenant – God added the law. This became an addendum to the covenant.

It was the same covenant, but it had to be tweaked. Basically, God was telling them, “This is what it means to be My friend. You must live differently than those around you.” So God put the demands of the covenant in writing.

But God never wanted this arrangement to be permanent.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Jeremiah 31:33 NIV

He made it clear that there was coming a day when He would restore the covenant back to the way it used to be. That was Christ’s mission. To show the LOVE of the Father. To end the addendum of law, and remodel it to a covenant of love once more.

In my next post I’ll continue along this line.

Question: Why is it difficult to serve God by following a set of rules?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2026 in Israel, Legalism, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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God’s Covenant of Love

03 Apr

Over the last few posts, I’ve been talking about God’s love. If we’re to love Him, we must first know His love.

So far, I’ve talked about some general aspects of His love. The Lord blesses us, He sows His Word in us, He disciplines us, and He gives Himself for us.

Today, I want to take it to a higher level. True love desires fellowship and sharing. But there has to be a commitment of sharing.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

This is the first time in Scripture that the term, covenant of love, is used. We know that we serve a God of covenant. The fact is that entering into covenant is God’s desire.

The Lord doesn’t just talk about love. He wants a commitment to love. That’s why His faithfulness is emphasized in this verse.

That word, faithful, literally means firmness or certainty, like the arms of a parent holding a helpless infant. His faithfulness is long-lasting. 1000 generations, which equals about 20,000 years. That’s much longer than I need to worry about!

The problem is that in our society, we don’t understand covenant. We do agreements and contracts. These are based upon unfaithfulness and mistrust. If I don’t put it in writing, I have no guarantee you’ll fulfill your part in this.

A covenant, on the other hand, is based upon faithfulness and trust. You don’t enter covenant with someone, unless you know the one you are covenanting with. I have to unconditionally trust the one I’m in covenant with.

Job had it right.

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

Job 13:15 NIV

That’s quite a statement of faith. He didn’t have the Bible like we do. Yet this was Job’s way of saying,”I don’t understand what’s happening to me. But, if God himself stood before me right now and took my life, I would die trusting Him.”

I look at that and then I think about how we react to God sometimes.

“God, I tithed this week, where’s the money I asked you for?”

We don’t really seem to understand love based upon covenant.

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

1 Samuel 18:3 NIV

You have to understand that Jonathan and David were old army buddies. They had fought together. They knew that they had each other’s back. Their covenant formalized that bond. Men don’t think it’s “manly” to admit this bond today.

Historically, covenants were made for different reasons. Sometimes for mutual protection. Sometimes to increase their wealth, families joined in covenant.

But, ours is a covenant of love that we’re talking about. We’ve stuck together through victory and defeat. So, we want to officially declare our commitment to each other’s welfare.

This is the type of covenant that God is speaking about. He wants us to understand His commitment to us. It’s very important that we understand this concept. So, I’ll continue to explain more about it in the next few posts.

Question: How have you seen God’s faithfulness in your life?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2026 in Encouragement, Faith, Fellowship, Relationships

 

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God’s Love Breaks the Curse

27 Mar
God’s Love Breaks the Curse

For the past couple of posts, I’ve been sharing about the love of God towards us. I want to continue this in today’s installment.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 NIV

As I said, we’re looking at the love of God. We need to see that love so that we can truly love Him.

This verse shows us an important aspect of His love. This is the fact that God demonstrates His love – He exhibits it. We need to realize that true love can be seen.

It’s a positive participation in someone’s life. Real love is not just on the inside.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 NIV

This verse is actually a poor translation of what the original Greek text says. John writes that we know by seeing what kind of love God has given us. In other words, God wants us to experience His love.

There’s a reason for this. He wants us to be recognized as His children. Because God’s love can be seen and experienced, we’re to show the family resemblance. How you see the world around you says a lot about how well you’ve experienced God’s love.

For instance, in the Old Testament there was a pagan spiritualist named Balaam who wanted to put a curse on Israel.

However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

Deuteronomy 23:5 NIV

Because of God’s love, He turned a curse into a blessing. If we’re in God’s love, then we see blessing instead of cursing.

One of the greatest parts of love is the ability to bless someone. The verse says that God overturned the curse into blessing. Because of His love, God overturns curses.

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

Proverbs 26:2 NIV

I don’t have to worry about what someone says about me or my family. There is no curse that can touch us.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Galatians 3:13 NIV

Because of God’s love I cannot be cursed unless I embrace it. It’s only if I believe what others say about me that it will affect me. It’s the same when it comes to my own thoughts.

I can’t let the lies of my mind, or the lies of the enemy, affect my future. Christ has redeemed me. He has overturned the curse into a blessing. That’s the only way I should be seeing my life.

Above all else, I need to be meditating on God’s Word. That’s where all of the blessings truly come from.

Question: How have you seen the curse overturned in your life by the power of God’s love?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 27, 2026 in Encouragement, Power of God, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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God’s Unstoppable Love

25 Mar
God’s Unstoppable Love

In my last post, I started talking about the love of God towards us. It’s amazing and infinite. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll never be able to fathom it. I want to continue with this today.

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8 NIV

We’re told something interesting about the love of God in this verse. It says that God directs His love toward us.

That word, direct, means to command. It’s like a general giving orders to those soldiers under him. It literally says that God commands His love to reach us.

I think that there’s something incredible about it. The verse makes it clear that it’s by day that He commands his love.

I think about it this way…I have three daughters. When they were little, I remember seeing them while they were sleeping. The fact is that at night, while a child is sleeping, it’s very easy to look at them with love in your heart.

This verse tells us that He commands His love when we’re awake. It’s during the daytime while we’re doing whatever we happen to be doing.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Romans 8:35 NIV

These are great questions. What can possibly put a space between you and God’s love? Can pressure, hardship, or persecution? Can hunger, danger, nakedness, or the sword? Paul then answers his own questions.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 NIV

The simple answer is – nothing! There’s no place or no one that God’s love cannot reach. Why? Because God commands it to be that way. The same command that created light, commands love to reach to you. When God commands it, nothing can stop it.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…

Ephesians 3:17b-19a NIV

This is a prayer to God. It’s a prayer for power. This power can only come from God. That’s because it takes supernatural power to grasp God’s love.

I cannot understand His love, without His power to do so. I cannot love God without knowing God. (Because God is love) I cannot know God and His love without His power at work in me. He has to reveal His love to me.

This passage tells us why we need power to grasp the His infinite love. It’s because we need to grasp or literally lay hold of this love. With His power we can know this love that’s beyond knowledge.

How can you know something that goes beyond knowledge? How can something infinite fit inside something tiny? Only by the power of God.

We need a revelation of the love of God. The more time with Him – the more we know His love.

Question: Is it your prayer to be able to grasp the infinite power of God’s love?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2026 in Encouragement, Power of God, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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Understanding God’s Love

23 Mar
Understanding God’s Love

Now that I’ve finished my study in the epistle of Jude, I’m feeling led to take a small break from the New Testament series. I want to spend some time talking about our relationship with God. Specifically, His love for us, our love for Him, and the levels of our relationship with the Lord.

So let me start by asking; do you love God?

You may respond with; why would you even ask that question? Of course I love God!

The fact is that we need to understand what it truly means to love God. This series of posts will spend a few weeks exploring this subject.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I John 4:8-10 NIV

Where do we even start to understand what it means to love God? He’s so vast, so infinite. The Scripture says that it’s not about our love for Him, but His love for us. So, to understand love, I have to understand Him.

That’s the basis, the foundation stone. If I want to know love, I must know God. The world talks about love, but it’s not the real thing they refer to.

We go to a wedding and see a couple who say that they have a love that will last forever. Five years later, they’re in court seeking a divorce.

At one point I heard a celebrity say in an interview, that they had attended a beautiful wedding. The reason was that in the vows, the couple said that they promised faithfulness “…as long as we both shall love.” It’s obvious that the world has no concept of what true love is all about.

That’s why I believe that before we say that we love God, we had better know what love is. So I’m going to start by taking a few posts to look at the love of God. Because God is love.

O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

Psalm 59:17 NIV

There are many believers who love to study the names of God given in the Scripture. Here’s an important one we need to know. In this Psalm, David calls the Lord Elohiym-Checed. That name literally means the God who loves me. It’s important to understand that God and His love cannot be separated.

At one point, the Old Testament saint, Nehemiah, prayed the following about Israel:

They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,

Nehemiah 9:17 NIV

God is abounding in love. This means that God has an over abundance of love. It’s comforting to know that God has more than enough love for us.

God is love. God is infinite. Therefore, His love is infinite. He will never run out.

Even when we blow it, God is there for us.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:20 NIV

This verse clearly says that under no circumstances will God ever reject your intercessions or turn off His love for you. You will never go past the reach of His love.

God’s love is amazing. We will need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to comprehend it.

Question: How have you experienced the amazing love of God?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2026 in Encouragement, The Gospel

 

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The Forms of Love

17 Sep
The Forms of Love

As we continue through 1 Peter, he’s now giving us the exhortations that develop leadership character in our walk with the Lord. In my last post, I talked about the ability to pray effectively. Now Peter moves forward.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 NIV

Now the apostle talks about something that’s above all. Before you do anything else, you must learn to love. That’s the agape love of God. It’s the non-emotional choice to positively participate in the lives of others.

But more than that, as leaders, we must love deeply. This means that it must be done intently, fervently, and without ceasing. As believers, we must learn to love one another.

This will be the greatest need of the church as we get further into the last days. This means not just showing love by our words. There must be a willingness to participate in each other’s lives.

That’s how the world will know we’re His disciples. Not loving by emotion, but by our actions.

Peter tells us that this is because love covers over a multitude of sins. Sin is missing the mark. You can miss the mark in a lot of things. But if you’re known for your love – it covers a lot of the other areas where YOU miss it.

Along those same lines, Peter tells us…

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Peter 4:9 NIV

This concept of hospitality is important for us as believers. It seems to be a lost art in the body of Christ. He literally says we must be alien lovers. That’s the word the Greeks used for being fond of guests.

The Lord wants us to learn to become hospitable. For too long we viewed the church as “that building.” I see a trend taking place. Because of world events, the church is moving back into homes.

There have been burnings, attacks, and anger. Many times, we’re labeled as “Right-wing extremists”.

Look at the early church. According to Acts 2, believers devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:46b-47 NIV

Notice how Peter says they met together in their homes – without grumbling.

“I’ll let people in my house, but I won’t be happy about it.”

In actuality, the house owner receives a special blessing. Hospitality is a big way that we can show love to one another.

Question: How well do you show hospitality?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2025 in Fellowship, Leadership, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Holiness Develops Love

17 Mar
Holiness Develops Love

We’re continuing our walk through Peter’s first letter to the church. He’s been talking about holiness and the fear of the Lord. Now the apostle goes a little deeper.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22 NIV

Peter is desiring for us to develop love for one another. This is an important teaching for us to hear. That’s because this generation has a notable lack of love. We’ve become very self-centered.

Love is the choice to put others first. It includes the choice to truly fellowship. I’m not talking about simply meeting together for church.

We’re talking about the true love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. It’s the choice to participate positively in the lives of others.

The key to producing this true love is right here in these verses. If you look closely, before he ever deals with love Peter says, “Now that you have purified your soul in obeying the truth through the spirit…”

That’s the foundation of the love we share as believers. It’s the goal of purifying ourselves. It means we desire to be made holy, set apart to the Lord for His use.

Here is the key. The foundation of true love is holiness.

Remember what Jesus said when He was asked what was the greatest commandment.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV

The first step is loving God which leads to holiness. So, if you truly loved yourself you would walk in God’s way. That leads to the ability to love others

Peter had to enlarge this in his second letter.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV

Notice that verse 5 & 6 get you to godliness (holiness). Then it takes godliness in order to step over into brotherly love. This is the first love in 1 Peter 1:22. He calls it a sincere love for your brothers. That’s literally an unpretended brotherly love.

Please understand that brotherly love is the emotion of liking someone as a friend. Until you develop godliness, you must pretend to like others. Believe it or not, we must pretend to love until godliness is developed.

The problem in the church is that we don’t even pretend to like one another. But isn’t that hypocrisy? No – it’s obedience! That’s because we’re headed toward agape-love, which is choosing to love even when you don’t feel like it.

That’s what Peter is saying here. Now that you’ve developed godliness, you don’t have to pretend anymore.

“I don’t like these people.”

Well, that means you still need to mature some more. That’s because mature holiness causes you to like others. I’ve made the choice to love; then God starts to change my heart. I start to become like Him.

Question: How have you seen this love developing in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 17, 2025 in Fellowship, Ministry, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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The Fear of the Lord Part 2

12 Mar
The Fear of the Lord Part 2

I’ve been going through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post I took a side trip to talk about the fear of the Lord. That was based on Peter’s statement about the work of holiness in our lives.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

We saw that the lord judges our works, not on the appearance, but on the quality. That’s more about the motivation that was involved. Good works may impress people, but God looks at the heart.

The way we learn about motivations is how well we serve the Lord when no one is looking.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

I keep emphasizing the fact that the fear of the Lord is more than simply a reverence before Him. This verse makes that point abundantly clear. When Paul uses the word “trembling”, he’s obviously going way beyond reverence.

However, we need to know how this fear should work in our lives. Remember, we’re not talking about being afraid of God. That’s not how He works. The Lord doesn’t want you to serve Him because you’re afraid that He’ll blast you if you mess up.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:15-16 NIV

The clear teaching of Scripture tells us that we’re not to be slaves to fear. Some Christians mess this up – they let fear control them. As I said in my last post, what we should be afraid of is messing up the relationship we have with Christ.

This fear is of the loss of some of the good things we have in Christ. It’s like a loving parent who tells their child, “Clean your room or you’re not going to your friend’s party tonight.” The child doesn’t fear the parent, but missing the party.

How does that work in us as believers?

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I John 4:18 NIV

Fear has to do with punishment. That’s the same with the fear of God. Like all children – we don’t want to be punished. Too many preachers and teachers focus judgment and punishment.

The judgment of God is an important truth. But the fact is, God would rather reward our obedience than deal with disobedience. And here’s the beauty of it.

“Love drives out fear”

NOOOOOO!!

It’s perfect love. Mature love. That drives out fear. As a child, in becoming mature, I learn better and better to obey. So, the older I get, the less fear of punishment I have. As my love matures, don’t work because of fear, but because I’m part of the family.

The bottom line is that as love matures, our misplaced fear decreases.

Question: How have you seen this love maturing in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2025 in Faith, Legalism, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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Your New Clothes (Part 4)

29 Jan
Your New Clothes (Part 4)

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul talks about our spiritual clothing in Christ. In my last few posts I talked about some of these. I spoke last time about bearing with and forgiving one another.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14 NIV

Paul now tells us that the bottom line of how we treat one another is love. There’s no way around that. He says that love is the glue that holds all these pieces together.

Usually, we like to teach everything separately. I did that over the previous posts. We looked at compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness. But the fact is that none of these virtues exist in a vacuum. Love makes them work in unity.

However, love is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts among Christians. Of course, that’s to be expected in our society. The media throws that word around with no clue as to what they’re talking about.

The love that Paul talks about is the Greek word, agape, which has a very specific meaning. This is not something that you can just do by accident. It has to be a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

Probably the best description given was by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. If you’re able, you should read through it before continuing with this post. Let me quote a small section for you.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Think about what this passage is saying. Especially in the light of what Jesus told us. He commanded us, as His disciples to love one another (John 13:34-35). That statement alone should show us the fallacy of the world’s view of love.

This kind of love has nothing at all to do with our emotions. It’s purely a choice that we make in our treatment of others. It also includes action. It’s impossible to love this way by simply saying it or thinking it. God’s kind of love has to be visible.

But what do I really have to do to show love to someone? By looking at the above verse, it’s clear that there’s a group of people I actually want to treat like this. They’re my friends. I want to show them how much I like them.

There you have it; love means that you treat everyone as if you like them, whether you do or not. After all, isn’t that the teaching that Jesus left us with?

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Luke 6:27-28 NIV

This is why we need the power of the Holy Spirit operating in us. Loving our enemies is not natural to our human make-up.

“I love them, but I just don’t like them.”

Wait a minute. I didn’t tell you the best part of all this. Not only do you have to treat everyone as if you like them – even your enemies, there’s more. You have to treat them this way whether they’re physically present or not.

After all, you wouldn’t gossip, slander, or speak evil about a friend of yours. Love deals with the total package of how we treat others. Whether they know about it or not isn’t the issue. The God kind of love is a lifestyle.

This is why Paul tells us that it’s the binding agent for all the other virtues in our Christian walk. We need to spend quality time in the Father’s presence. That’s the only way to let Him cultivate His love in us.

Question: How well do you see God’s love operating through you?

© 2024 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2024 in Fellowship, Power of God, Relationships, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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