As the children of God, apart from abiding in God’s commandments, to show love to one another is part and parcel of our lives. To love mankind is to love God as God is love.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
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“So do you have any plans this weekend?” This is a common question we all hear as we get closer to the end of each week. When I was young, after hearing about all the fun and exciting things my friends had planned for the weekend, I would usually answer in a sheepish way, “Uh… no, not really,” and the conversation would move on without me. In reality, I always had something planned for the weekend – every week, my family and I go to church to keep the Sabbath day. But back then, I was afraid of telling my friends about it because I was afraid of being different, of standing out from the crowd. Nowadays though, if you ask me what I’m doing for the weekend, I’ll probably still say, “Nothing much.” But, I’ll also say, “I am going to church though!” What changed my mind?
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35)
We all know how important it is to love one another, as this is a new commandment that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us. Can we love just because of God’s commandment? We want to, but we cannot. We need to learn about the origin of love. God is the source of our love. When a person experiences love and has love in his/her heart, then he/she shows love through giving to others.
No words can express the joy of God’s love. Only those who have tasted God’s love for themselves can comprehend it. Continue reading
…therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Rom 13:10)
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (Jn 13:35)
I recently read a blog post authored by a TJC member who hasn’t attended church in over two years. In the post, the author declares why they left church – because of love, or the lack thereof. Growing up in a church with roughly 800 members, I have heard this phrase many times: “There is no love in church.” Because of the nature of having a large congregation, it is natural that people form friendship groups; and as a result, people do inevitably get left out and feel as though they don’t belong. Coupled with the fact that the congregation predominately consists of an Asian community where the culture promotes and practices emotional restraint, it is true that youths growing up within the western society may feel the lack of emotional support from their church peers and elders.
It is evident that this mentality in the youths persists and, as a result, permeates through different churches around the world. Actually, through studying the Bible, we realise that this problem was evident since the ancient saints of the Old Testament. We find that the same principle is at work. Continue reading