
Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Love is an ACTION, not a feeling.
True love is built on truth.
It’s impossible to love God without loving His truth.
John 14:15 (ESV) – If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
1. To love God means that we live in sincerity with truth for ourselves.
Romans 12:9 (NIV) - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Living out an honest and sincere love for God means living free from self-deception.
When confronted with God’s truth, with Biblical truth, what do you tend to do?
Will you try to negotiate around it?
Will you reject it outright?
Luke 6:42 (ESV) - How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Make a list of the things you really hate, so you can make a list of the things you really love.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (ESV)
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Hating what God hates emboldens our love.
Romans 12:21 (ESV) - “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
2. To love others means we live in sincerity with truth for others.
The command to love is also a command to consider everyone: “treat them as you would like to be treated.”
A huge part of growing up as a Christian is to speak the inconvenient truth of scripture.
Ephesians 4:15 (NIV) - Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Compassion: Recognizing the needs of others and taking action to help.
• Empathy feels something, but compassion does something.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV) – As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Authentic compassion is focused on what is actually best, not what feels best.
What may be painful in the moment might be what’s best for the future.
TRUTH IS THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE.