Bible Thoughts

July 30, 2000

The demands of love led Jehovah to send his only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross. The same love was manifest in the willingness of the Son to endure the agony. Love motivated the apostles to preach the glad tidings of the Lord's love for mankind, suffer for the cause of the Master; and to sacrifice their lives when necessary.

The demands of love for all Christians is that they faithfully follow the Lord in their lives. That love will bring about an example to others. It will motivate one to sacrifice for the Lord's cause. It will bring about proper treatment of brethren. It will make one a better person in every phase of life: a better mate, a better parent, a better friend, and a better disciple.

Love is not understood by people in the world. Many believe that love will overlook sin and transgression; that you accept a person for what he is and not for what he should be. Love does not overlook sin; it does not overlook error; it does not approve one walking in the ways of unrighteousness. Love will, in fact, motivate one to help the sinner from his/her sin; it will point out error in a person's life and/or teaching; it will point the sinner to a walk of righteousness in which one can truly love and serve the Lord.

What is the measure of my love for the Lord and for others? Does it move me to diligently work for the cause of Christ? Does it motivate me to set a proper example to the ones with which I associate? Does it move me to sacrifice for the Lord? for my family? for others? The apostle John said, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another"(4:11).

Learning to love is not an easy process. In fact, it is a lifetime effort. It begins in the cradle; it continues in one's upbringing; it blossoms in young adults; it blooms in the more mature; and it is the hallmark of the aged Christian.

In the absence of love, one cannot please God. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (I John 4:8). This type of love will cause one to find the commands of God and obey them. Not just in becoming a Christian, but in living the life of a Christian. A loving disciple can be recognized by the attitude and behavior that is shown toward others. Yes, there are times to encourage, to rebuke, to teach, and to admonish, but all is to be done in love for that disciple. In fact, the one who truly loves another will point out the needs of that person. The one who is receiving instruction or correction must also receive such in love. One's willingness to correct or to receive correction is a measure of one's love.

The demands of love are not grievous. In fact, living a life that is acceptable to God is extremely pleasant. The Christian always has the Lord to depend upon, but there are also brethren. All disciples care for other disciples. When one is in trouble, brethren will help. When one is sad, Christians will offer cheer. As loneliness creeps into one's life, there are saints that will be glad to offer help and encouragement. Disciples of Christ are willing, always, to meet the demands of love. Christ met such demands in his death; we meet such in our lives.

Many times when we look for examples we look for big things, and little things go unnoticed, even though there are many great lessons you can learn from them. Bigger isn’t always better, more powerful or have more meaning.

In Mat.10:42 Jesus placed importance on little things; their wisdom makes up for their insignificance and because of this they also have great influence over many things.

In Prov. 30:25 we read about the ants that they are a people not strong, yet they prepare there food in the summer. In proverb 6:6-8 we see that they are diligent(they work hard), we also read that they have no guide, overseer, and no ruler yet they still work diligently (which is more that we can say about many people today). No ant is born tired and there are no slackers in the colony, they never go on strike and they are a one motto: ‘work’. Now we need to find out how the ants' example applies to our lives today. We as saints need to follow the ants pattern carefully, they are the perfect example of how we are to work here on earth.

First, we need to work during the summer of our lives: Jer. 8:20. We are in our summer while here on earth, and so we need to be diligent in our preparation. In Matthew 25:1-10 we read of the ten virgins (five of them wise and five foolish), the wise were prepared for the bridegroom and they went in with the bridegroom, the foolish had to go get more oil(unprepared) and were shut out. They lost their opportunity and regretted it later. The same applies to us today.

In Ecclesiastes 12:1 we are warned not to leave our work for later, because later will be difficult times. Proverbs 20:13 tells us that we are not to love sleep, and this sleep would be talking about wasting our lives away forgetting the reason we are on this earth.

The bridegroom is coming as a thief in the night 2 Peter 3:10. Are you like the ant which is working diligently preparing for his coming or like the wise virgins who had extra oil, are you going to be found without spot, blameless or are you like the sluggard sleeping, leaving your work till later, letting your opportunities slip away. Follow the ants example and work now while you can, so that you may have your rest in eternity one day.-Vaughn Clinton Botha