“But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” I John 2:5-6 NKJ
“He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:10-11 NKJ
Everywhere Jesus went and everything that Jesus did in His ministry on earth was motivated by His love for us! But He didn’t just make a profession of love with His words. He expressed His love by His actions, even to the point of dying on the Cross for us! True love always requires action! We are called to walk as Jesus walked in the fellowship of love, one for another, with the promise that when we do; there is no cause for stumbling in us. The word stumbling in 1 John2:10 means: stumbling-block or trap.
In 2 Corinthians 6:3 Paul writes, “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.” The Greek word for offense is “skandalon” and is defined as a trap, a snare; any obstacle placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall. So when we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no cause for stumbling in us. And when we walk in the perfected love of Christ IN us among men; we won’t put a stumbling block in their path and our ministries on earth cannot be blamed. As we discovered yesterday we will be hated and persecuted as disciples of Jesus Christ just like He was, but when we walk in love they have no evidence to validate their accusations of offense against us.
It is very unfortunate that the world today can validate their accusations against the body of Christ because there is so much judgment, condemnation, and hatred among God’s own people. And kingdom dollars are not being used for the kingdom purpose of advancing the Gospel to the ends of the earth. They look upon the church and see expensive buildings and then look across the street and see starving children on the corner and they are offended. Another one of the greatest accusations from the world is that they do not see brothers and sisters IN Christ treating each other with love and respect and they don’t see the operation of love in the church. They see the internal battle going on in the body of Christ and they are offended by the hypocrisy and lack of unity and love.
If Jesus were walking the earth today and called all of the people who profess faith in Him together; I am certain we would be rebuked for not fulfilling the greatest commandment He gave us. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” So much of Christianity is focused on dividing lines of doctrine that the true ministry of Jesus has been lost in-between the pages of man’s bylaws and standards of holiness. If we are going to make an impact in the world we must come together as one body that operates together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and we must walk together in love as He walked. He gave this commandment to His disciples, not to the world.
Going back to the company analogy for a minute think about the companies who have trainers in place to teach the new hires how embrace the vision of the company and how to accomplish its mission. They do this so the team can become a cohesive group who work together to fulfill the vision and mission of the company. If we can see Jesus and the disciples as our trainers; we will learn how to fulfill the vision and mission of God for His church. And the first training session is to learn to walk in love with each other and how to make love an action, not just a profession from the mouth.
The second call to action in walking in love would be in giving to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ so that the Gospel message could be advanced throughout the world, because until that is accomplished Jesus is not coming back for His bride. He said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) For centuries people have been saying Jesus is coming back at a certain time but as Jesus said in verse 36, ““But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” The only indicator that the end is near is when the Gospel has reached the ends of the earth and it is then when we know the hour is fast approaching. This is why one of the first training sessions for the fruit bearing disciples would be to advance the Gospel message. And when the Gospel message is preached the physical needs of the people in those areas are met as well.
In 1 John 3:16-19 John said, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” The fruit God produces on the branches of His disciple’s lives was never meant to be kept in a storehouse or spent to erect massive church structures. It was meant to be used to advance the kingdom of God through the ministries that take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the world and to meet the needs of His people.
Prayer: May we all grow together in knowledge and wisdom in learning to walk as Jesus walked, love as Jesus loved, give as Jesus gave; so we can prepare the way for His return. Let us lay aside our foolish arguments that cause the dividing lines in the body of Christ and let us come together as one body under the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the head of the body. Let us love one another so there is no cause for stumbling in us and let us love in action as His body; so we do not give cause for offense and so His ministry in us cannot be blamed. Let us prepare the way as fruit bearing disciples so the Bridegroom can come to take us (His bride) to our rightful dwelling place where we will live with Him forever. Amen
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