Kenneth E. Hagin's Faith Food for today is very important for us to receive and then walk in!
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).
How is the world going to know us? By our love. By this divine love. By this God-kind of love. By this unselfish love. "God so loved - He gave (John 3:16)" Now, His love isn't natural human love. Natural human love is selfish. As a usual thing, even a mother's love is a natural human love. It's selfish: "That's my baby!" But if we would learn to let the divine love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts dominate us, it would make a real difference in our lives. It would cure the ills in our homes. Natural human love can turn to hatred when it doesn't get its way. It will fight and fuss, claw and knock, "cuss" and be mean.
Divine love, when it is reviled, reviles not again. The God-kind of love is not interested in what I can get, but in what I can give. Do you see how that can solve all the problems in your home? As children of God, the nature of God is in us - and God's nature is love. So it is natural for love to be in our spirit, our heart. However, if we allow our outward man and our mind to dominate us, that love nature in our heart is kept prisoner. Let's release the love of God that is within us!
Confession: The world will know me by my love. I will release the love nature within me!
Remember that THIS kind of love is NOT an emotion, but a CHOICE! The choice is whether or not to obey God and His Word! We are instructed to love our brethren [other born again believers] (1 John 3:14; Romans 12:10), our neighbors (Mark 12:31), ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40), and our enemies (Matthew 5:44)! What does love do? Love sees everyone as precious and valuable, the same way God sees us! I LOVE this from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From the Greek":
The following is an
expanded interpretive translation of
First Corinthians 13:4-8
“Love
patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed;
Love doesn’t
demand others to be like itself; rather, it is so focused on the needs of
others that it bends over backwards to become what others need it to be;
Love is not
ambitious, self-centered, or so consumed with itself that it never thinks of
the needs or desires that others possess;
Love doesn’t
go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and
embellishing the facts to make it look more important in the sight of others;
Love does not
behave in a prideful, arrogant, haughty, superior, snooty, snobbish, or
clannish manner;
Love is not
rude and discourteous–it is not careless or thoughtless, nor does it carry on
in a fashion that would be considered insensitive to others;
Love does not
manipulate situations or scheme and devise methods that will twist situations
to its own advantage;
Love does not
deliberately engage in actions or speak words that are so sharp, they cause an
ugly or violent response;
Love does not
deliberately keep records of wrongs or past mistakes;
Love does not
feel overjoyed when it sees an injustice done to someone else but is elated,
thrilled, ecstatic, and overjoyed with the truth;
Love
protects, shields, guards, covers, conceals, and safeguards people from
exposure;
Love strains
forward with all its might to believe the very best in every situation;
Love always
expects and anticipates the best in others and the best for others;
Love never
quits, never surrenders, and never gives up;
Love never
disappoints, never fails, and never lets anyone down.”
AMEN! does this help YOU understand better how to walk out this love commandment? Remember, as you do, that "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8 AMP)! Here is Hillsong United with "Light Will Shine":
Shalom in Him!
