Love

Our first lesson will begin a look into the Fruit of the Spirit. They can be found in Galatians 5:22-23. The Fruit of the Spirit are important, because it is by them that other people see that we belong to the Lord. “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:16-20.

*Love*Joy*Peace*Longsuffering*Gentleness*Goodness*Faith*

*Meekness*Temperance*

Definition of Love: A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. Affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor. The benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.

This week we will focus on Fruit #1, Love. Everybody loves love! We have love for our family & friends, love for our husbands (or boyfriends, depending on marital status), love for food or flowers or entertainment, love for animals. And, hopefully, most important, love for God.

I Corinthians 13 is probably the most well-known passage of scripture dealing with love. It speaks of charity, or Christian love, which is not love for pizza, or puppies, or petunias; it is love for people, the way God says for us to love them and the way He loves us. Turn right now to I Cor. 13, and read it through one time, before you go on. It’s short! OK, done? Now, let’s look at some of the ways we show love to people.

Here’s a biggie: we show our love for someone by being unselfish and putting their needs ahead of our own. Look at verses 4 & 5 :”Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;” Another reference that teaches about this is Phillipians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Do we concentrate on our own personal happiness, or do we look for opportunities to make those we love happy?

Another way we exhibit our love is by being kind. There it is in verse 4: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind”. Also, take a look at Eph. 4:32: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Being kind isn’t always easy, but we can do it! It mostly means, think before you speak, and stop before you say those hurtful words. Proverbs 31:26 says this about a virtuous woman: “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” Do we treat people with kindness, or do we say cruel and hurtful things without thinking? Are we always having to apologize for things we’ve done and said? There are more verses that talk about this, but we can’t fit the whole Bible in one lesson!

Lets look at verse 6 now: “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;” The main truth is God’s Word. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. We know that Jesus was God’s Word made flesh (John 1). David said in Psalm 119:97 “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Hearing the Word of God should make us rejoice. Reading it should be a blessing, not something we dread. Do we look forward to time spent with our Savior reading the Bible? We also need to be sure that we speak the truth, and that we don’t rejoice to hear falsehood spoken of others. We can show our love for God by rejoicing in His truth, and for others by speaking the truth to them and about them, with discretion of course. Not all things that are true need to be spoken out loud!

How else do we demonstrate our love for the Lord? Here’s the biggest way: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Those are the words of Jesus, in John 14:15. Plain and simple. Not always easy; but simple. In John 15:10, Jesus also said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” The Bible is full of commandments for us, but Jesus summed them up in two, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matt. 22:37-39.

CHALLENGE! This week, let’s take time at the end of each day to think back over the things we’ve done and said. Have we been self-serving, or have we been giving? Have we put our own things first, or did we look out for someone else’s happiness? When we opened our mouth, did kindness come out, or a piercing sword? Did we spend time in God’s Word, or did we put it off again and do something else instead? Did we sin against the Lord? Did we love our neighbors as much as we loved ourselves? Let’s ask the Lord to forgive us of our shortcomings, and help us as we make a conscious effort to do better tomorrow.