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Love
Apr 25, 2017 15:26:06 GMT
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Post by zirui on Apr 25, 2017 15:26:06 GMT
How do I increase my love for God and those around me? I know love requires action.
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Love
Apr 25, 2017 19:14:48 GMT
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Post by melissarenee on Apr 25, 2017 19:14:48 GMT
Love is a commandment by God. We are to love Him and love others. There are many scriptures dealing with love and the fact that love is a commandment. So, if love is a commandment, it means it is within our capacity to love, and it also means love is a decision.
Love is not an emotion, however, there are emotions involved when we love, just as there are emotions involved with almost all human actions and decisions. However, we can choose to love regardless of our feelings. No matter how you "feel" about someone, you have it within your capacity to love them if you know the Lord.
In order to love truly and unconditionally, a person must know God. The closer a person becomes to God through knowledge and understanding, the easier it becomes for a person to set his or her affections to love God and love others.
Does this mean that those who are lost, who do not know God, cannot love? This is debatable. Im sure we all know people who do not seem to be followers of Christ but do seem to have a great capacity for love. This is another subject altogether that I will save for another time.
To grow in your capacity to love, you must simply grow in the Lord through faith, knowledge, and undertanding. You can accomplish this through prayer and studying the scriptures. It is also helpful to join a local group that is lead by Christ, maybe a prayer group, or just simply surround yourself with friends who are in Christ. If you dont have friends or relatives in Christ, a local church may be an option. Although having online support and guidance is great, it cannot replace the benefits of having support face to face.
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Love
Apr 25, 2017 23:40:58 GMT
Post by moni on Apr 25, 2017 23:40:58 GMT
Interesting, and also sometimes its hard to understand that love doesnt have to be emotion. Like, it pleases me to do good to someone. Does it mean that when i do good to someone and it doesnt please me can it still be love? (I mean i know Jesus definetely wasnt pleased on the cross but love was His strenght?) But how do we know it comes not from cold obligation if there is no emotion? Like some kind of affection needs to present i think.
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Love
Apr 26, 2017 13:04:12 GMT
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moni likes this
Post by melissarenee on Apr 26, 2017 13:04:12 GMT
Actually, love can be an obligation, an action, a responsibility, a duty. Since God commanded us to love Him and others, then we can deduce that we have a responsibility to love regardless of how we feel.
If we were face to face with a person who had commited a terrible crime or terrible act of injustice, we are still commanded to show love toward this person. This doesnt mean we cant be angry with them and arent supposed to be sure this person faces the consequences of his actons and is punished. If you look throughout scripture, you will see that discipline is mentioned many, many times, and that discipline is necessary for love to exist. There can be no Godly love without discipline, and facing consequences and punishment is a part of discipline. But once the consequences and punishment are dealt ( which are a part of love) we must let go of the righteous anger toward the wrongdoing and allow for healing, which will pave the way for the showing of compassion.
Its true that love is not easily angered. But anger can be driven by love. Righteous anger involves being angry at what makes God angry. Its a desire for God to be justified. Its also a desire for people (sinners) to stop the sin and act in righteousness so that they can please God.
Jesus was angry with the men in the temple who were buying and selling. We know that his anger was motivated by a desire for righteousness. He also was motivated by love for his Father, as well as love for those who were defiling the temple. He wanted those men to turn from the evil they were doing and he wanted to restore his Fathers house to a place of prayer.
Jesus's reaction may not have looked like an act of love, but we know it was driven by love and that his reaction was necessary. It was a reaction to sin and disciplinary to correct the situation. I dont think Jesus was feeling good about this situation and feeling warm and fuzzy or even enjoying what he had to do. And in the moment, he wasnt showing compassion. Once this necessary display of his anger (driven by love) was over, we can be sure Jesus then showed compassion toward the men in order to continue loving and leading them in the right direction.
I think we can love regarless of how we feel. But I also think that the closer we are to God, the closer to perfect our feelings are. We might cringe when we have to show love toward someone who we know is living a nasty lifestyle. It might not make us feel good at the time. But God can help us to suppress those negative feelings and just feel love. It takes a lot of prayer and discipline for some.
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Love
Apr 26, 2017 14:06:18 GMT
Post by moni on Apr 26, 2017 14:06:18 GMT
Thank you, that makes lot of sense.
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Love
Apr 26, 2017 16:04:34 GMT
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Post by zirui on Apr 26, 2017 16:04:34 GMT
How do I moderate my love so I don't love someone or something more than God.
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Love
Apr 28, 2017 0:32:05 GMT
Post by moni on Apr 28, 2017 0:32:05 GMT
Hm.. I like how Doug said in one of his videos to keep stuff in an open hand. Kind of difficult tho. I think maybe try to depend on God for everything you depend on this other person and see how God supplies your needs better. And when it comes to loving own child i guess its a little different cause i know mothers get obssesed with their kids and whats best for them. I guess then realising that God loves this person more than you gives you more trust towards God which i guess wont make you obsess over someone you care about and therefore wont compromise Gods will for the own self-righteous-good of that person, therefore not putting that person above God. If that makes sense.
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