“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them
around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win
favor and a good name in the sight of God and man [people].” – Proverbs 3:3-4
NIV
We should not leave love and faithfulness
out in any circumstances, especially who are followers of Jsus Christ and
committed our lives to Him. This is because these are two important priorities
that we all need to have in the walking with God. 1 John 4:7-15 probably give us the best
reason why we need them. Thus, these verses declare:
Dear friends, let
us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born
of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is
love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son
into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our
sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No
one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love
is made complete in us.
This is how we
know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we
have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the
world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus
is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.
Therefore, Jesus Christ says:
‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and
with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)
Second of all, we need to know that living
through or in God (1 John 4:9,15) require a lot of
faithfulness. This is why the Spirit of God is inside of us to advocate us to
help us. We know this because 1 John 4:13 states: “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us
of his Spirit.” This means God is willing to pour His Spirit into us, if we
choose to walk with Him through our faith in Christ Jesus. (Luke 11:13)
Lastly, since 1 John 4:12 declares: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us
and his love is made complete in us”—we recognize “love” is the one of the
best kind of the light of Christ that we could present to the world around us. For
this reason, we need to love each other whole-heartedly. This is because the
word of God proclaims:
You are the light
of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people
light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine
before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We
implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
The another reason why we need to love one
another is because in Christ, we are members of one another (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13), and love brings us
into perfect unity. We can see this in Colossians 3:12-14 that declares:
Therefore, as
God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive
one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all
together in perfect unity.
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