Revelation of the Word

THEME: LOVE

1 John 4:8

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

INSIGHT
-Jesus simplified the whole law in love for God & our neighbours as ourselves. There is a thin line between love for God & love for neighbour. For we know that love for God entails keeping His commandments by one’s own will aided by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, which by extension is love for one another. By loving one another; we know God for no one has seen Him at any time.

SUMMARY
-Love in Hebrew is written as ahava & it means desire & affection. Love can simply be defined as a feeling of strong attractions, emotional attachment & an act of the will; for each person chooses whether to love or not. In Greek, love is classified into 8 types. The first 4 main types are: – Agape – love of God, Storge – love for family, Philia – love between friends & Eros – love that involves sexual passions & desires. The others are Ludus – affection between young lovers, Mania – obsessive love, Philautia – self love & Pragma – love that has matured over time.
-Jacob loved Rachel because of her form & beauty, & was willing to sacrifice seven years to demonstrate his love (Gen 29:18). He extended his love to Rachel’s offspring for after Joseph’s birth, he was ready to relocate the family to his own country (Gen 30:35). King Ahasuerus also loved Esther more than the other virgins. She obtained favour & grace before him & was made queen (Esther 2:17). When she prayed & fasted with her people, Esther was able to save the Jewish communities living in the 127 provinces from Ethiopia to India, when Haman made a decree to kill them. Just like God raised Esther an orphan to be queen, God has a purpose for each one of us & is going to do exploits in our lives if we pray & trust in Him. During this time of lent; many Christians all over world are also praying, fasting & giving alms to widows, orphans, the sick, those in prison & all those in need according to Jesus’ directive & secret of inheriting His kingdom (Mat 25:34-36). By these charitable acts, exercising spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit & even to a greater extent sacrificing oneself, love is key for without it we are nothing & achieve nothing (1 Cor 13:2-3). To understand the characteristics of love better we read in 1 Cor 13:4-8 that; love suffers long; it is kind; it does not envy; it does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; it does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it thinks no evil & it never fails. May we continue praying that the Holy Spirit may fill our hearts with love so that we may exercise the true nature of God in our daily interactions; for which we were created.

PRAYER
We love You Lord & all that is within us gives You praise. Teach us to love You as You please & our neighbors as ourselves. Fill us with unending love from above; Holy Spirit which never fails. We are nothing without You Jesus, help us to always do Your will. We give You thanks & praise for nothing can separate us from Your love. Amen

Love filled Weekend

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