The Hill of Love ~

Good evening~ I feel that you and I are making this long journey together through the valleys and up the hills of life. This study takes us up the Hill of Love, a hill which has many challenges even though we may assume it's an easy one. As always, we take a deep breath as we make the plunge into a deeper spiritual life.

You may be surprised if I ask you, "What is the greatest gift?" And you already know that the answer is love. In one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible that question is answered. And even though you've heard it many times, I wouldn't let any conversation about love go without mentioning it. It's in 1 Corinthians 13, which says:

"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.
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Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails....And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 

Those words speak a definite conclusion as to what is the greatest gift. This is such an important subject because I'm not sure there is much true love in the world today. And without going into all the reasons why I feel that way, I'll simply say that love has to be practiced and practiced again. It isn't always easy to show love or to give love, but doesn't it seem to you that it is--at the very least--a requirement for following Christ? And in an effort to give us another look at the way love behaves, it may help us to look at some scriptures on love. 

                                      

First, let's look at some thoughts about God's love for man. Ron has something to say about this: "God has demonstrated His love for us. What a hill to look up to as we walk through the valleys of life! How uplifting to our spirits! Some things about which we are concerned become so trivial when compared to what God has given for us. Often we must meet someone with greater problems than our own before we appreciate the blessings we have, e.g., the man who had only one hand met a man who had no legs." This graphic mental picture reminds us to count our blessings every day. And Ron has also been with people in Russia, South America and Mosambique who have few choices in food, or places to live, or ways to stay warm. We are truly blessed!  

Then looking at Ephesians 3, beginning with verse 17, it says: "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Now what exactly does all that mean to us? Width refers to the fact that God is available to everyone who believes in Him. Length refers to how far God would go for our sakes: to the extent of giving His only begotten Son. Depth refers to the fact that our very souls are pulled out of hell so that we will not perish. And height refers to how high we may rise: we will be exalted to heaven's glory and to eternal life. Breathtaking in its simplicity and profound in it's message!

Now let's look at Jesus' love for man. Besides the verses in Ephesians we just looked at, which include comprehension of the love of Christ, we can look at John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." And that's what Christ did for us.  He gave the ultimate gift of Himself! Matthew 27:35 tells us: "Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: 'They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots'." Jesus died for you and He died for me. Not in the lap of luxury or convenience, but among criminals and thieves. Christ paid for our sins. What are we willing to do for Him? Are we "looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"? It was Jesus "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." While Jesus was on earth, He endured poverty, humiliation, insults and pain so unjustly. All of this, He did for us because of His love for us. And now that He is in heaven, we can look up to Him for salvation.

Now we've looked at the love that God and Jesus have for man. What is involved in showing our love for God and Jesus? We take for granted that our inward man must love God completely. How many times have you read these words: "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Everyone who is a child of God must embrace its meaning and live by it.

And that's not quite all we need to be doing to show our love. 1 John 1:3 says that we should have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Later, in verse 6, he says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." So, basically, it's sharing our lives with the Holy Ones. And not only do we have fellowship with God and Jesus, but we have love for others. Later on in 1 John, it says: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." Almost everyone I know believes it's different for them...God won't notice that they don't get along with others--perhaps feeling self-righteously that God will understand because it is them. Do they have a right to feel the way they do? Haven't they been wronged and mistreated? We should all give more thought to our relationships.

Because this study is getting too long, I'm going to stop and say more later--perhaps giving a more complete idea about how we can more easily show our love for God and Jesus, as well as other people. Climbing the Hill of Love sounds easy and familiar to us because we hear the word love so often, but practicing true love is harder when we look at it from a deeper context. More on this another time.

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings...Mimi