THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF LOVE (Part I)

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF LOVE (Part I)

The most profound and pivotal evidence of the Christian faith is our sincere demonstration of love.  In the words of Jesus Christ, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, NKJV)  John, the apostle of love, affirms the fact that our relationship with God (and others) is directly mediated through the covenant of love: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8, NKJV)

THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST is the epitome of DIVINE LOVE.  That is, “God was IN CHRIST, reconciling the world to Himself…and has [thereafter] committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19, NKJV)  When Jesus Christ walked upon the earth, He existed as the literal and physical manifestation of the LOVE OF GOD, inhabiting this mortal plain.  His life-long, sacrificial representation of the LOVE OF GOD forever redeems us from the power and penalty of sin, and of death.

JESUS is the supreme embodiment of divine love, so here is my theological definition of love:

LOVE IS THE CHRIST-ANOINTING – spiritually activated in our thoughts, attitudes, words, decisions, actions and ministries – for the express purpose of transforming our lives, increasing our faith, restoring our relationships and authenticating our witness.

Allow me to explain this another way, by taking a trek back to the beginning of time.  In the infancy of human history, we took our first-step away from God.  Quite often, Eve is saddled with the blame of succumbing first to satanic deception, but this line of reasoning puzzles me.  After all, God issued His divine directive to both Adam and Eve.  “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  (Genesis 1:27-28, NKJV)

We don’t know where Adam was when the serpent stealthily slithered his way into Eden.  Perhaps he was tending to the garden; perhaps he was simply asleep at the switch.  Nevertheless, it is my contention that Satan was able to launch an effective attack against the matriarch of humanity because the patriarch had left her all alone.  At the risk of sounding a bit sexist or chauvinistic, women do need the covering of men.  Likewise, men definitely need the covering of women.  We are much better together…than apart.

As a matter of fact, a prime satanic strategy is to isolate us and (via the entry door of our aloneness and loneliness) to gain access to our thinking and to thereby influence our attitudes and actions.

However, there is an absolutely amazing reservoir of divine power that resides in UNITY and AGREEMENT.  Jesus Christ declared “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20, NKJV)  The sage Solomon stated “two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, NKJV)  Indeed, it is possible for one to chase a thousand, but standing in the unified power of God, two shall put ten thousand to flight! (Deuteronomy 32:30)

Now hear this!  The foregoing principle represents a spiritual geometric progression that literally terrifies Satan!  We have little comprehension of the spiritual force that will be released when we walk together in purpose and unity.  As we awaken to realize the power AND POTENTIAL of unity, a wide array of demonic devices will be nullified and obliterated in our families and in churches.  Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!