But You III

 As we build ourselves up on our most holy faith and pray in the spirit, we must also keep ourselves in the love of God. If we are still using the chair as a metaphor, this would be the third leg of our metaphorical chair, and though it may seem simpler to do than the first two, it’s just as taxing on the vessel. That’s a good thing. Whatever is difficult for the flesh is usually beneficial for the spirit. The inverse is likewise true, wherein what is pleasing to the flesh is detrimental to your spiritual man.

As far as one of these practices being more important than the other, can you tell me which leg of the chair you’re sitting in is more important than its counterparts? Is there one leg in particular that stands out above the rest, one that you would deem of greater import than the other three? Of course not. The four legs support the whole and are interconnected in their purpose. If one leg is weaker than the others, it puts more stress on the other three until something finally snaps.

Keeping ourselves in the love of God is an action we must undertake as individuals. God can’t make you stay in His love; you must keep yourself there. You are responsible for remaining in the love of God, for keeping yourself in it, and no one can do it for you. Just as you can’t outsource your spiritual maturity, another cannot keep themselves in the love of God in your stead.

The source, genesis, and inception of all you do must be the love of God. You can preach, teach, sing, and even do acrobatics, but if they do not originate from the love of God, they are meaningless, pointless, and valueless.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 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. 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.”

As with all things, the enemy has attempted to redefine love to mean permissiveness, validation, and acceptance of things God detests and abhors. It is a lie from the pit of hell that if you love someone, you will not challenge their lifestyle, choices, or errors. It is because we keep ourselves in the love of God that we risk being hated and looked down upon by speaking truth into people’s lives. It is because we keep ourselves in the love of God that we rightly divide the Word and preach the gospel to those walking in darkness.

The love of God compels us to point the way to Christ even though we know we will be misunderstood and hated by those who revel in deceit. It fuels our labors and focuses our purpose, shifting it from the things of this earth to the things of the Kingdom.

The love of God keeps us from being indifferent. It keeps us from being passive when we see evil seeping in and attempting to pervert all that is good and decent. Ingratiating ourselves to those who do evil is not a mark of love; it is proof of its absence. Someone unwilling to point out the precipice or warn of the danger isn’t doing it out of love or loyalty; they’re doing it out of cowardice and passivity.

When we put those actions into words, we discover how absurd they are: I love you so much that I will say nothing as you are barreling toward eternal damnation!

Say what? If that’s your definition of love, then you can keep it. If nothing else, love me less and tell me I’m in danger. We’re loving people into hell, and somewhere along the way, we will have to answer for it. By we, I mean the church. By answer for it, I mean be judged.

For us to keep ourselves in the love of God, we must determine what the love of God is. No, you don’t need a degree in hermeneutics, theology, or Hebrew to know this evident truth; you just need to read your Bible. The manifest love of God is Jesus.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Keep yourself in Jesus, and you keep yourself in the love of God. If you want to understand Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians in a way you’ve never understood it before, replace the word ‘love’ with the word ‘Jesus’ every time it is mentioned, and you will be awakened to a truth so deep and profound that it will bring you to tears.

You can speak with the tongues of men and angels, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries and knowledge, have all faith, and give all you have to the poor, yet if you do not have Christ, if you are not in Him and He in you, you have nothing.

This paradigm shift also sheds new light on the words of Jesus when those who prophesied, cast out demons and did many wonders in His name will be told that He never knew them. It’s not enough to know of Him; He must know you. All you do in His name must also be at His command, flowing out of Him through you so that you may be counted as a good and faithful servant.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.