Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (NIV)

I confess: I don’t fully understand what love is. I’ll take that one step further: you don’t either.

We say that we love others, but our actions show otherwise: we cannot tolerate our neighbor, we wish our enemies ill will, and we don’t heed God’s call to submit to Him.

Love isn’t some sentimental feeling that we have toward another human being, rather love is patient, kind, overlooks another’s faults, and is always being put to the test.

It is easy to love those who love us, that is precisely what the heathen do. But, loving the unlovable (which can include ourselves) isn’t possible from within, but it is possible with outside help, namely through God who made us and understands are disposition.

Today is Valentine’s Day when so many people make at least a token effort to show love to the person they care about the most. These tokens of love are often expressed in the giving of roses, chocolates, cards, and the like. Often, the gifts are given in exchange for something else, proving that a lot of people do not know what unconditional love is.

God loved us even when we didn’t love Him. Through sin, God shows us exactly where our hearts are and that our hearts aren’t seeking Him. Through the redemption of His Son, Jesus Christ, God has demonstrated what pure love is and what we must do to be saved.

Because He knows that we don’t have it within ourselves to love each other or to love Him, God sent His gift of love — the Holy Spirit — who dwells with those who put their trust in Him. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can begin to grasp what love is all about and turn around and truly love others in His name.

We cannot earn God’s love as that already abides with us. We can walk in His love by allowing Him to reign in our hearts.

God is love — can you sense His love for you today?

Photo courtesy of Mike Thorn.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

When some people come to faith in Jesus Christ, they are soon pulled off to another direction, far from the liberty and grace that God has given to them. Cults, unsound doctrine, and false movements can pull the unsuspecting away from the truth, making shipwreck of their faith.

At the age of 18 I came to believe, putting my trust in God through the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ. What I didn’t understand was the finished part — there was nothing I could do to repay God for my sins, but I didn’t know that at the time.

Soon, I was pulled in by those whose motives were selfish and whose doctrine was a lie — I became entangled with a group of “believers” who everyone else was calling a cult. Never mind that we read the Bible or that we agreed with most of what other Christians believed, but the legalisms and twisting of truth soon distorted everything. Liberty was traded in for works and even then our works were never quite good enough.

Thankfully, I moved on after eight months but the residual impact of my experience  lingered. I ran far from the Lord and even when I returned several years later, I found myself repeating earlier mistakes — I got caught up yet again with those who were quick to entangle me.

Many years have gone by and I am far removed from those who espouse false teachings.  I no longer am attracted to the sort of movements that can destroy my faith as Biblical wisdom has replaced man-inspired doctrine. Yes, reading the word of God and waiting upon Him for guidance has taught me much about grace and liberty, twin pillars of the faith that guides me today.

If you are caught up in a movement that isn’t inspired of God, then please take my advice: flee from that entanglement and ask God to show you the way through His word. Extracting yourself can be painful, but the wisdom God wants to impart to you will be like the balm of Gilead — soothing to your soul.