True Love
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October 07, 2018 |
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 "…The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?'…He straightened up, and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'…And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.'" (John 8:1-11)
The word 'love' itself makes us happy. If we had one whom we can share unchanging love with throughout our whole life, we couldn't be happier. People may profess they love each other with their very lives, but their love is mostly looking out for their own benefit; such love eventually decays and changes.
God tells us in the Bible that true love is to seek others' benefits and give joy, hope, and life to others, and it never changes forever. Spiritual love is the only true love; and this spiritual love can only be given from God. The love of God is beyond the imagination of a man. Its height, width, and depth are infinitely unimaginable.
To open the way to salvation for all mankind, God allowed His only begotten Son Jesus to be miserably crucified. Jesus also demonstrated the love of God to the whole world by willingly taking the cross. His love covered our transgressions and became the power to renew us. In the love, we also came to profess our hope for heaven. Let's now delve into the true love Jesus showed to us.
1. His love is forgiveness and mercy.
Jesus showed His mercy from His innermost heart to people no matter how cruel sinners they were. He desired to save those dying souls to the point of sacrificing His own life.
In John 8 is found a woman who was caught red-handed in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. They said to Him, "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
According to the Law of Moses, she had to be stoned to death. However, Jesus did not tell the people to 'kill her according to the Law.' He rather opened a way for her to survive.
In response to their question, Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. And He said, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." What did He write on the ground? It was the sins of the people surrounding her that Jesus wrote on the ground.
First, He wrote only general sins such as hatred, anger, greed, stealing, adultery, and arrogance. Until then, the people had not realized the list of sins was applicable to them. However, when Jesus wrote on the ground second time, they turned pale. This time, Jesus wrote down in detail the situations of the sins they committed with details like the time and place and the specific sin that was committed by the people there.
When they saw their own sins that were written down, unless their hearts were as hard as iron, they could not cast a stone at the woman. One by one, they put the stones down and left the place. It would be the same as to condemn themselves if they stoned her while seeing their sins that had been written down.
When all of them left the place, only Jesus and the woman were left. Jesus then said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" And He continued to say, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now and sin no more." Even if Jesus forgave her, if she continued to live in sin, she had no other course but to fall into destruction. That is why He earnestly told her not to commit sin any more.
Of course, not all sinners can change, even if you show mercy to them and forgive them. Some of them would change and receive salvation, but some others would do evil standing against God till the end, so that they cannot reach salvation. Jesus also knows this fact, and He surely knows each man's heart so well. However, do you think Jesus would say, "Show mercy to this person because he will soon repent, but that person will not repent even if he is given an opportunity for salvation, and so give up on him."? Or do you think He was in agony, thinking, "Do I have to sacrifice Myself for those evil people?"
Most people do not want to show mercy to those who do not seem to be worthy of forgiveness. When impudent people do not show their gratitude but do evil even when they were treated in goodness, people neglect them thinking, "It is not worth it to deal with them."
But, it was not so with Jesus. He loved even people like Judas Iscariot; until the very end when he could still repent and turn back, He loved him. He was even crucified not only for those who followed Him, but also for those who nailed Him on the cross.
Now, what about you? Both you and I were all sinners, and we were destined to receive the punishment of death. But by the mercy of God, we were forgiven and came to have hope for Heaven. If we do not show mercy to others, we are like those who could stone others even though they had seen their sins written down in front of them.
By the way, some people easily come to a conclusion about others, saying that they are 'being discerning of others.' They may even conclude how they feel saying something like: "I have examined him so far and found that his heart is hardened and that he does not understand the truth even when he is told what the truth is," or "He always says he will do better, but in the end he has not changed at all." They think it is not worth the time and effort to take care of such people with all their strength. However, this is not discerning in a spiritual sense. Instead it is judging, condemning, and indicating that the person is giving up on the individual without mercy. No matter how many shortcomings someone has, you cannot but show mercy to him if you regard him as a soul.
2. His love never changes.
When people are greatly indebted to someone else, most of them may confess their love for the person. But the true love is the love that never changes not only in good times but also in hard times. It is the love that never changes no matter how many years pass by.
It is also true when you love God. If you truly love God, your love should never change no matter how severely you may be afflicted or disadvantaged as a result of that love. Even if you undergo trials from time to time, you do not hold any bad feeling against God, but you rather continue to devote yourself to His kingdom faithfully.
When Apostle Paul had hardships while preaching the gospel, his love did not change. Even when he was severely beaten, bled, was imprisoned, or as he drifted in the deep sea for a night and a day, he gave praise to God from the depth of his heart.
He did not have the slightest unjust feeling thinking, "I was faithful according to the will of God, so why should I be beaten and shamed? Why did God let me be cast into the sea like this?". He rather happily said, "Such a mere sinner like me can undergo trials like this for the sake of the Lord's name."
You may not always have peace and happiness when accomplishing the work of God. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Apostle Paul said, "We were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves."
Likewise, there were times when I had to drop down as if I was dead. There were so many heart-breaking incidents. Even at those times, I never thought, "Why did God make me face this kind of thing? I only believed and obeyed God, so how could this be?" I only believed that whether I live or die, my entire life is God's and the Lord's. Even if I become as low as the dregs at the bottom of the barrel and even if I lose everything and am faced with death, I only make the confession, "God, I love You, and thank You."
You may say that you can give up even your life for God when you have fervent love for Him. But even after you have given your whole life for Him, if you still have to give it all again, could you give it with the same heart as the first time?
Let's say that you have given all your possessions, remained completely faithful, and even given up your health repeatedly, but now, if you are to give it all up again, could you give it with gladness? If you have true love, you will not have any feeling of injustice or misunderstanding, even if you end up in a very low position instead of enjoying glory after you have given up all again and again. If you accomplish this true love, you will receive the ultimate level of love from God.
3. His love understands others' hearts.
Some people give their love to others according to their own standard. Instead of giving what others want, they give what they want to give, and they also expect to receive what they think they should receive in return.
But true love is being able to stand in the other persons' shoes, consider their hearts and give what they want and need. Even when they do not give anything in return, true love is not having unjust feeling or misunderstandings about it. Even worldly people closely study what others like and what pleases them in order to win their hearts. When you love God, you should also understand the heart of God.
Our Lord Jesus did just that. The will of God for Jesus was that Jesus should be crucified to accomplish the providence of salvation. Jesus knew that this was the will of God, and completely obeyed.
However, if He had only wanted to accomplish His duty since taking the cross was His duty, all He would have had to do was to enjoy His life on the earth and then to be crucified on the cross at the last moment. But, Jesus understood the deep heart of God. He knew why God had sent Him to the earth; and He obeyed. Even though at times He was not able to eat and rest, in order to heal and teach just one more soul, He did His ministry with all His heart and strength.
Finally, when He took the cross and walked up Golgotha, He did not confess in His heart, "Father, I love You. Even though I am hurting and it is so difficult, I can do it for You, Father." This would be the confession of a child who does not understand the heart of his father even though he says he loves him.
Jesus said to God that many souls would receive salvation through His suffering, and He tried to reduce the sorrow of His Father God by all means available to Him. He even comforted God saying, "I can overcome all these sufferings with the overflowing love of the Father. Please don't mourn for Me and hold Your tears."
I hope you will love God with this heart of an adult child. Then, even when you do your smallest of duties, your attitude and its fruit will be different. You will not think only of accomplishing the duty. But you will also try with all your strength and heart to make the procedures and the results in a way God can be pleased.
When you visit a soul, if you understand the heart of God, you will not just diligently make the visit. Since you understand the heart of God who wants the person's soul to prosper, you will work with all your strength to make his soul prosper. Even when you meet with someone for just one time only, in order to give grace to him, you will fervently pray before you meet him. Then, you will eagerly long for the power and authority to change souls and solve their problems.
In addition, when you teach the truth, you must not teach as you see fit. That could hurt others' hearts or cause them to react with opposition. But you must pray and receive wisdom to understand others' hearts and have conversation with a humble heart. And then, you can make them open their hearts and accept the truth.
If you truly desire to understand others' hearts, you should be able to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. In order to understand even deeper, you should resemble God and change your heart into the heart of goodness and love.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 1 John 4:16 says, "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." I hope you will be able to deeply think about the love of the Lord given to you once again and check your faith and love.
I urge you to check whether you have the heart of forgiveness and mercy, whether you can give never-changing love, and whether you love them while understanding others' hearts. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so you will become comfort and joy to God.
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