In 1 John 4:7 (Amplified) we read, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves (his fellowmen) is begotten (born) of God and is coming (progressively) to know and understand God (to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him)."
According to this scripture, when we understand the love of God has for the brethren and we honor them as we honor Him, our understanding of Him is strengthened. Romans 5:5 (Amplified) says that "such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given us."
It's not as though the Holy Spirit poured love in us, but rather when the Holy Spirit was poured out from on high, He was (is) the love of God. The Holy Spirit and the love of God are one and the same according to Romans 5:8 (Amplified) where we read, "But God shows and clearly proves His (own) love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us."
The truth of carnal Christianity is that we still operated more in just human love than the God kind of love. For centuries we fought against everyone who didn't believe like us. These are the same ones who Jesus died for.
The only two commandments that were given to the Church are found in Matthew 22:37-40 (Amplified) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)." Verse 38 says, "This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment," Verse 39 continues, "and the second is like it; you shall love your neighbor as (you do) yourself." Verse 40, "These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the law and the prophets."
Also in 1 John 4:19-21 (Amplified) we see that these were the only two commandments that were given to the Church. These weren't suggestions; they were commandments. We as the Church sometimes wonder why things don't work the way they should. Maybe it's because we block the blessings of God by not being where we should be when it comes to love. This love is the channel through which the power of God has to flow. When we read John 3:16 (Amplified) , we see that the whole reason for sending Jesus was because of the love God had for all peoples. It's when we respond to the people that love actually has a funnel to flow into.
We read in Romans 5:5 (Amplified) that this love had been poured in our hearts by the coming of the Holy Spirit. God and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. So, when this Holy Spirit came into our lives, it activated the very love of God Himself. Acts 1:8 (Amplified) says "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth." Well, the Holy Spirit has come, the love has been released and we, as the Church, have been filled with this love. This love of God that we have received, must be released by faith (not by sight or feelings). If we try to walk in this love by just mere human feelings, then it will always fail. Emotional feelings are simply not enough to allow the love of God to work. Feelings are so unstable that you simply cannot trust them. One time feelings will put you in front of a preacher pledging your love for each other. The next minute, feelings will have you in a divorce court trying to destroy one another. Christians don't walk by feelings, they walk by faith. When Jesus told us to "love your enemies," it was a faith statement. The very fact that they are your enemies shows that feelings aren't working very good. In order to love them, you must, by faith, overlook how you feel and follow the command to love, by faith.
After two thousand years of being the Church, you would think that by now we would know better. Mostly, the Church, has been it's own worst enemy when it comes to love. I've never found anyplace in God's Word where it says everyone should love me. I have, however, found in God's Word that I am to love them.
Some people make it very hard to love them, but I'm sure I'm not always to love either. I'm certain that only God's love was strong enough to overlook all of our faults and love us. If it took God's love to overlook all of our faults then, it still takes God's love to overlook them now.
We sometimes act like once we're saved, we've arrived. As far as going to heaven, this is true, but as far as walking down here, we still have plenty of learning and growing to do. God didn't say we were to tolerate one another, He said to love one another. This can only be done as we yield our lives to the Holy Spirit. Our Church doctrine will allow us to get along with those of our own doctrine, but how about those of a different denomination? Tolerance is not love. Just putting up with someone is not love.
We, as the Church, have been very disobedience to the commandment of love. Really, we have no defense when it comes to this failure except we don't want to be obedient. We talk about what we're to wear and not wear, we talk about different denominations believe and don't believe, but there's no reason for not loving in the Holy Spirit.
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