Unearthly love

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (Joh 13:34,35).

There is a camaraderie in gangs. They may murder their rivals, but they respect one another and will die to save a fellow gang member.

There is a fellowship in clubs and in secret societies. They are sworn to secrecy, and this creates a close-knit brotherhood. But, if one of them decides to back out and separate from a society, or worse, to expose the secret evil intentions of the group, he or she may be assassinated.

There exists a uniting force in unions and work places and in military units and police orders. And these bonds could each loosely be labeled love. Individuals within these groups may have a more intimate friendliness for one another than is encouraged by the organization. The purpose of the group is to advance the mission of the higher authority through more or less regimentation.

All of these friendships come with a self-interested agenda, even if it is to serve a larger organization. Pay is involved in the relation to the larger group, and therefore self-interest affects the relationships.

There are religions that advertise their Christian love and they quote John 13:35. But do they have true love? Do they love God’s Law? Do they have the love of the truth?

Paul warned that the last generation church would be full of the grossest iniquity, yet “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” (2Tim. 3:5). Jesus foretold the same. “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matt. 24:12).  We know that “faith…worketh by love,” and, that “when the Son of man cometh,” faith will be a rare thing on the earth. (Gal. 5:6;Luk. 18:8). Therefore, should we be surprised if we find genuine love to be rare today with a shallow substitute replacing it?

Real, true love is modeled by little children. “And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in Hs arms, He said unto them,

Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me.” (Mk. 9:36,37).  “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.” (Matt. 21:16). Jesus had true love and He compared the little chidren to Himself.

What is it that makes little children hold hands and enjoy each others’ company with such delight? Is it because they have not had love staunched yet? They haven’t been curse with inhibitions, social taboos, and “old wives’ fables.” (1Tim. 4:7). Can adults have that child-like love? Did Jesus? Is Christ-like love child-like love? If it had not been, the children would not have flocked to Him and gazed into His “pensive face, benignant with love.” Steps to Christ, p. 11.

Christ was not childish and neither was His love. He was mature and perfect; and so will we and our love be when we receive His. Our love will be sanctified, cleansed of self and rebellion. It will honor all around us, high and low.

“The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” (1Tim. 1:5). The full work of the Law of God will be revealed in the beautiful blooms of humbled and reconciled love to God and from God to others. Little children love to be subject to their fathers and if we are children of the heavenly King, we will gladly fear Him and give Him glory. “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” (1Jn. 2:12,13). There can be no more genuine a love than the product of the fear of the Lord.

We are subject and surrendered to God. Not eye to eye as to a peer, or down at Him, as if we are God looking at a man; we look up to God as our Father, and up to Christ as our elder Brother. Those who have such a disposition toward God are reconciled and justified and full of the Holy Spirit. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom. 5:1-5).

Being “subject to the Law of God,” (Rom. 8:7) we have peace with God and an openness to Him. His spirit has easy access to our souls and He leaves in us His residue of peace. Our mutual access makes trust and love come natural and deep.

If we refuse to surrender to His law of tough love, we lose out on the greatest gift heaven can give—genuine, deep love, which is life eternal. Here is the test of all nations and in all ages. Pass this test of tough love and you have everything. And if we keep surrendering to God’s Law of tough love we will be made “unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:10).

All who refuse to submit to the will of God lose everything. The fear of God does not reign in them and the Holy Spirit cannot stay in such a polluted heart. Religious or secular, such a lawless heart is also a loveless heart due to the lack of the Spirit of love from God.

Only by yielding to the merciful Law of love can our heart imbibe true love and our fellowship be acceptable to God. “Love is the fulfilling of the Law. “ (Rom. 13:10). Only in the context of continual subjection to a commandment-giving Father can we be children of the heavenly family and find heaven in our families here below. Only surrendering to God’s will do we receive the humility to surrender our own desires to please those around us and create a fellowship with others that strikes their hearts deeply and awakens in them a new concept of joy and holy pleasure, and hope in the God of love begins in them.

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” (Jer. 17:5-8).

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” (Prov. 11:30).

Some are privileged to be born into a holy environment where the scripture are taught and exemplified and the Law of God is exalted and His fear testified of. Those thus advantaged will benefit in the byproduct of the pure love of heaven. They will know the experience that “a wholesome tongue is a tree of life,” and that “[Jesus’] gentleness [makes us] great.” (Psa. 18:35 ;Prov. 15:4). If such a family perpetuates the principles of the Bible, then generation after generation will be washed from sin’s degrading and destructive habits and practices, and the evil traditions of the forefathers will disappear. The glorious gospel will rise from the east like the seal of God and add the finishing touches of redemption to the last descendents of the holy line. The Davids, the Abrahams, the Johns and Pauls, the Isaiahs and Jeremiahs will follow Jesus, and see their Master take a crude, bacteria-laden cross, the instrument of torture and violent tyrannical punishment, and witness the Creator transform the cross into another tree of life. “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1Pet. 2:22-24).

Then, “the seed should come to whom the promise was made,” “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that…should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called [them] out of darkness into His marvellous light.” (Gal. 3:19;1Pet. 2:9). The Lord Jesus then has His powerful army of genuine love and perfect obedience to all of His commandments.

They have biblical wisdom. “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.” (Prov. 3:18). And they will have biblical, real love. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1Jn. 1:7).

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another….

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death….

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (1Jn. 3:10,11,14,16-18).