“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
— Romans 5:5 (NIV)
One of the truest evidences of our salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the fact that we can now easily love one another. As seen in our anchor text, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to produce the love of God in us. That is why love is the first fruit of the Spirit. So a person who is genuinely indwelt by the Spirit does not struggle to love. The Spirit of God produces a love in us that supersedes whatever love our flesh can produce. This is why we must decide to live by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
One of the reasons for this supernatural love is that we will not always encounter things or people that are lovable. There will be situations where it will not be convenient to show love. At such a point, only a love that transcends the natural can endure. One of the prophecies of the end times is that the love of many will grow cold amidst hard times and tribulation. It is therefore important to be deliberate about walking in love everywhere we go. It is God’s will for us to manifest His love anywhere and everywhere.
“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”
— 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NIV)
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 (NIV)
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
— Philippians 1:9 (NIV)
Despite the reality that the love of God has been poured into our hearts, as the Apostle Paul says, we see from the three texts above that he yet urged believers to increase and abound in how they demonstrate love. This is because the love of God in our hearts is limitless. There’s always more of God’s love we can give, because it is endless.
Prayer:
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps us to love as You want us to love.
No responses yet