1 of 2 
Note: This article is divided into two parts. I request the readers to study this material in its entirety in order to get a proper overview of my presentation.
We all know—it is easy and natural to love money, comforts, cars, possessions, ourself, even animals, but to love one another is the most difficult act to do.
We are aware that loving others involves risk. We may have to experience hurt and ungratefulness. We may have to face conflicts. We may have to make personal sacrifice.
However painful, we cannot excuse ourselves from our obedience to God’s word which commands us to love one another. Of course, we may not love every person in the world, but we are called to love those to whom God connects us, particularly as a local church.
We are aware that loving others involves risk. We may have to experience hurt and ungratefulness. We may have to face conflicts. We may have to make personal sacrifice.
However painful, we cannot excuse ourselves from our obedience to God’s word which commands us to love one another. Of course, we may not love every person in the world, but we are called to love those to whom God connects us, particularly as a local church.
How can we love each other when it seems almost beyond our ability to do so?
The answer to our bewilderment lies in John 13:34, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” From this Christ’s command to His disciples, there are two things we observe about how it is possible to love one another.
Satisfaction in Christ's Love for Us
Let me dwell on the first thought. Christ said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” To love one another we need to first understand the fact of Christ’s unconditional and infinite love for us.
We can only love each other when we are completely satisfied in Christ’s love for us. We cannot love one another, which require self-sacrifice on our part, if we do not find satisfaction in Christ’s sacrificial love for us.
How is it possible to love one another? Because of Christ Jesus who manifested His love for us on the cross to save us from sin unto Himself, thus inviting us to find salvation and satisfaction in Him. When our inner emptiness, longing and dissatisfaction finds its fulfillment in the love of Christ, we would in a position to selflessly love others.
Many of us confess with our mouth “God loves me so much”, but deep in our hearts we still feel unloved and expect love from selfish creatures. What can a selfish person give to another selfish person? It is in vain to expect love from people who themselves are craving for love.
Of course, God does show us His love through His children. But we need to know that they cannot love to the fullest—infinitely and flawlessly. Only in Christ Jesus, particularly on the cross, God manifested His infinite love for us. People's love is only but a shadow. For this reason, he who focuses on getting love from others is disappointed to love them, for no human being can absolutely satisfy the heart which is in the poverty of love.
To gratify his longing heart, the one who seeks love from others remains discontented and disgruntled, and thus cannot be in a position to give and share love with others. Is it any wonder why so many families, friendships and fellowships are broken because of seeking love from each other with a dissatisfied heart?
In my years of studying the Holy Bible, I didn’t find a single exhortation in the Scripture that encourages us to seek love from each other. Yet our human tendency is to use Scripture as a ladder to get what we want from others than view it as an altar on which we lay our lives and selflessly serve others.
Take note of this—we are only commanded to love one another.
And the Scripture is bold enough to exhort us to love another because Christ is the fountain of love in whom we quench the thirst of our lonely and restless heart, thereby becoming a channel of love to others.
No matter how much love we may receive from people, even from each other, we need to enjoy their affection by finding our heart’s satisfaction in Christ alone. Or else, if we start idolizing people’s love for us, we will not only put more emotional pressure on them to love us, but also get disappointed to love them when they don't satisfy our deepest and continuous longing for love.
Remember, people’s hearts are broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Only in Christ we find the spring of living water (Jer. 2:13). For this reason, we need to understand the love of Christ. We need to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 1:18-19).
Since our heart continuously seeks love, only the infinite love of Christ is lavish enough to satisfy our insatiable hunger for love and affection.
Never think, "Nobody loves me." Even if the whole world loves you it is still but a drop in the ocean of Christ's infinite love for you.
Therefore, as we find the love we have been seeking in Christ, let us share our love with one another out of our overflowing joy and satisfaction in God. [Click here to go to Part 2 of this article...] | 1 of 2
Many of us confess with our mouth “God loves me so much”, but deep in our hearts we still feel unloved and expect love from selfish creatures. What can a selfish person give to another selfish person? It is in vain to expect love from people who themselves are craving for love.Of course, God does show us His love through His children. But we need to know that they cannot love to the fullest—infinitely and flawlessly. Only in Christ Jesus, particularly on the cross, God manifested His infinite love for us. People's love is only but a shadow. For this reason, he who focuses on getting love from others is disappointed to love them, for no human being can absolutely satisfy the heart which is in the poverty of love.
To gratify his longing heart, the one who seeks love from others remains discontented and disgruntled, and thus cannot be in a position to give and share love with others. Is it any wonder why so many families, friendships and fellowships are broken because of seeking love from each other with a dissatisfied heart?In my years of studying the Holy Bible, I didn’t find a single exhortation in the Scripture that encourages us to seek love from each other. Yet our human tendency is to use Scripture as a ladder to get what we want from others than view it as an altar on which we lay our lives and selflessly serve others.
Take note of this—we are only commanded to love one another.
No matter how much love we may receive from people, even from each other, we need to enjoy their affection by finding our heart’s satisfaction in Christ alone. Or else, if we start idolizing people’s love for us, we will not only put more emotional pressure on them to love us, but also get disappointed to love them when they don't satisfy our deepest and continuous longing for love.
Remember, people’s hearts are broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Only in Christ we find the spring of living water (Jer. 2:13). For this reason, we need to understand the love of Christ. We need to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 1:18-19).
Since our heart continuously seeks love, only the infinite love of Christ is lavish enough to satisfy our insatiable hunger for love and affection.Never think, "Nobody loves me." Even if the whole world loves you it is still but a drop in the ocean of Christ's infinite love for you.
Therefore, as we find the love we have been seeking in Christ, let us share our love with one another out of our overflowing joy and satisfaction in God. [Click here to go to Part 2 of this article...] |
1 of 2 
No comments:
Post a Comment