Can I pray for you in any way?
Send
any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by...having the same love.
Philippians 2:1-2b
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Yesterday, we began a series of messages on what a Christ-like attitude looks like, drawing from the opening verses of chapter 2 from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. The first attitude was one of unity as Christian believers are called by God’s word to be like-minded, one in spirit and mind. Any church operating as the Lord intends it to will exhibit togetherness, not of its own doing but rather through the union with Christ and the Holy Spirit. We saw where this union brings encouragement to the church and its members through experiencing the love of Jesus and the sharing of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we turn to the second attitude that will show that a believer, or assembly of believers in a church, is functioning with a Christ-like attitude. Look again at today’s scripture passage:
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by...having the same love. Vv. 1-2b
You may remember that when our Savior Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He said this, quoting from Old Testament scripture:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Deuteronomy 6:9)
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)
Matthew 22:37-39
Later, the Apostle Paul would write these words to the Christians in Corinth:
“...now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
Finally, John would write these words in his first letter:
...this is His (God’s) command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. 1 John 3:23
Jesus called His followers to love, first giving their full love to God and then loving one another. Note here that there are no exceptions. Jesus doesn’t say we can pick and choose which neighbors to love. We’re to love them all.
Further, God has commanded all to believe in His Son and then to love one another. Again, no exceptions.
Friends, love is central and absolutely fundamental to the Christian life and anyone who professes to be a believer in Jesus must show it by the way they love others. And when every Christian believer loves as commanded, making the love of the Lord their love, then the church collective will be as it should be, with every member having the same Christ-like attitude of love.
This was the guidance given to the Philippian Christians and the Lord is giving it to us today as well.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment