LOVE DEEPLY

 Some of you have made it known to me recently that you have been missing my writings. I so appreciate that. It seems the months of December and January have been so busy with one thing or another. I would imagine yours have been the same. However, I do feel the urging to write to you before the month is up. It is a new year with new adventures and new challenges. I am thankful that we have one another, those of the Body of Christ, to walk hand in hand through this journey. If you are reading this and are not part of the Body, born into the Family of God, John 1:12 & 13 is for you: "But to all who did receive him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." Receive Jesus as your Savior and you, as well, can belong to the Family.

Therefore, speaking of the Family of God, what kind of children should we be. How should we relate to one another? I have been pondering this. 1 Peter 1:22 & 23 tells us to love one another deeply. Earnestly is another word. Since Christ loved us and we received that love and became Born Again, our love can be pure and sincere. 

Jesus's prayer in John chapter 17 was that we become one as He and the Father are one. When you are one, that means "one". There is not in between space in which to bring division. One is one. That is how the Godhead want us to be with them and with one another. 

So, to explain as I see it: Being one means you do not allow anything to separate or destroy the oneness. And to love deeply and earnestly and purely in that context, there is no room for anything but Godly love.

As we walk in the kind of love that is expected of us, we want only good for the other. We laugh with one another during times of joy. We cry with one another during times of pain and grieving. Selfishness has no place. Jealousy has no place. Envy has no place. Backbiting or gossiping has no place. Even our own insecurities have no place. Love is pure.

Look at a ball for instance. It is one. As it is, there is no space, no opening, no access for anything to enter. In its pure form, so to speak, it is "one". To destroy its oneness takes effort. Depending upon the thickness of the ball, it becomes harder and harder to penetrate. A small straight pin can penetrate a round bubble for instance. The thicker the ball, you might need a large nail with some force behind it to break through.

We know according to John 10:10, "The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. (Jesus said) I came that they may have life and have it abundantly". The thief is that pin or that nail. Once, it penetrates, the life goes out. The enemy of our souls, Satan, the devil, wants to destroy our oneness.

Unity, oneness in the Body of Christ, is crucial for our life and purpose. Jesus is one with the Father. We are one with the Father and the Son by the life of their Spirit, the Holy Spirit within us. When we get married, we become one with our wife or husband. Physical families become a strong unit.

Everything flows to and from relationship. As we are in close relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus on a daily basis, our bond becomes stronger and stronger. As we walk closely with one another in a deep and sincere love, the bonds are strengthened and secured. It is a daily growth. The Bible calls it "from glory to glory". We are being changed from the inside out through relationship. 

I spoke earlier of the "purpose" for our Unity. Again, in Jesus's prayer, John chapter 17 verse 23, He prayed that we would be perfectly one. Why? So that the world would see that God really did send His Son Jesus and that God did, in fact, "so love the world" (John 3:16) even as much as he loved his own Son. That is more love than most of us can imagine.

So, until we all become one, which can only be done through the help of the Holy Spirit, the world will not see us as any different than themselves. They are slaves to sin. We are set free from sin. They do not know how to walk out of anger, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, lying, cheating, etc. We know that through the Spirit of Christ Jesus, we have the strength and ability to not allow those things to enter our lives. We have taken hold of forgiveness of our sins and can now forgive others and walk in love, real love, deep, intimate, caring, unselfish love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. The more we practice His Presence in our lives through prayer, praise, worship, reading the Word of God (the Bible) and fellowship, we will grow and those walls of love, those bonds will become thicker and harder for the enemy to penetrate.

In these last days, we need to make all effort to show the world the true love of God that surpasses anything they can comprehend. It needs to be a love that convicts their hearts of their own actions. A love that draws them in by its kindness. A love that reaches out to envelope them in their pain. The world is hurting. 

Jesus is coming soon to receive those who are looking for him, who are ready. The word says that the world will hate you. Yes, it will hate you but there are those who will be drawn out of the world and that hate they experience will turn to love as they respond to the love of Christ through you.

So, my prayer for us all is that we will get rid of anything and everything that prevents us from allowing the prayer of Jesus himself in John 17 to be answered in our lives. 

Lastly, John 17:26: "I, Jesus, made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them." We love Him because He first loved us... let us love one another. 

Love in Christ Jesus,

BarbaraJean