Learn To Love

by Leonard V Johnson

There is a famous quote that has once again made its rounds on social media sites, “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love” ~ Nelson Mandela.

Indeed, we ── as human beings ── must be taught how to love. We are born with the capacity to love. Yet, how we experience love or hate can profoundly shape us throughout our lives. 

We are told by the LORD God ── through the inspired prophet Job ── “’ Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.’” – Job 14:1.

The LORD God’s (the Elohim; the family of God) Master Plan… From the Beginning involves love. Notice what our Lord Jesus says ──

“’ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.’” – John 3:16-17.

We have the capacity to obtain the same character attributes as our Creator, such as goodness, creativity, and love. These attributes help us to better understand who God is and why God is. And as to why He created what He has created.

We are also told by the apostle Paul ──

“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no not one; 11) There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.’” – Romans 3:10-11.

Another quote that comes to my mind is from a book entitled The Help ── “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” To me, it emphasizes the importance of encouragement from parents to their children in helping shape their character.

YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

YOU MATTER TO THE LORD GOD!

THE LORD GOD WANTS THE VERY BEST FOR YOU – PERSONALLY! And, the LORD GOD DOES HAVE A PLAN FOR YOU – PERSONALLY!

Something that I want us, brethren, to especially think about is that our tests, trials, and tribulations happen because the LORD God loves us immensely ──

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12) For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” – Proverbs 3:11-12.

Notice also the apostle Paul speaks of this ──

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6) For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’

7) If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8) But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9) Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

10) For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11) Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:5-11.

Yes. As I wrote last January, “I’ve been praying to the LORD God now for a little over a year for the removal of an evil and vile person from my family’s life. “Why?” I ask Father God and our Lord Jesus, “Have You not removed this vile man from our lives?” The answer that I finally received was not the answer I wanted.

Yes. Sometimes we have to endure long and arduous matters to help us in developing love.

Notice what the apostle Peter wrote ── here speaking that we may be partakers of the divine nature ──

“But also for this reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith VIRTUE, to virtue KNOWLEDGE, 6) to knowledge SELF-CONTROL, to self-control PERSEVERANCE, to perseverance GODLINESS, 7) to godliness BROTHERLY KINDNESS, and to brotherly kindness LOVE. 8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 1:5-8.

Perseverance is a sign of love.

“Love suffers long …” – 1 Corinthians 13:4.

While we may be enduring trials, tribulations, and tests, let us consider the following ──

“Delight yourself also in the LORD, … 7) Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; … 9) For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.” – Psalm 37:4, 7, 9.

Yes, brethren, we will be rewarded for our perseverance.

Our perseverance in waiting patiently towards the LORD God, but also our fellow man.

Patience and Compassion

It’s not just the LORD God we are to love. We are also to love our fellow man ──

“ … ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ 29) Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30) And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31) And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’” – Mark 12:28, 29-31.

Interestingly, the scribe answered Him ──

“ … ‘Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33) And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’

34) Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” – Mark 12:32, 33-34.

How do you love your neighbor ── even if your neighbor is “an evil and vile person”?

Brethren, we know that even that “evil and vile person” will be given the opportunity (the gift and blessing) from the LORD God ── someday ── to be a part of the glorious family of God.

With this firmly in our minds, we should be determined not to hurt, harm, or pronounce any curse on our neighbors. And we, of course, should never covet ANYTHING they might have. Our Lord Jesus Christ ── who truly gave His commandments to Israel, spiritually magnified His Law in the New Covenant.

As an example ── the Sixth Commandment, “’ You shall not murder.’” – Exodus 20:13.

Sadly, there was a time when I nursed my anger towards this “evil and vile person” I speak of. As spiritually magnified by our Elder Brother, Master, and Savior, this commandment not only means that we are not allowed to physically murder but we also are forbidden to hate our brother. Notice ──

“’ You have learned that our forefathers were told, ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who commits murder must be brought to judgment.’ But what I tell you is this: Anyone WHO NURSES ANGER against his brother must be brought to judgment. …’” – Matthew 5:21, 22, NEB.

We are to express love toward our neighbors – cf. Matthew 5:43-48. We must always keep in mind that our neighbors will also ── in due time ── have the potential in the LORD God’s Master Plan.

Another example ── the Seventh Commandment, “’ You shall not commit adultery.’” – Exodus 20:15.

Again, not only are we commanded not to commit physical adultery, but spiritual adultery as well ── the lusting and worship of false gods. Our Lord Jesus also speaks of this ──

“’ You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28) But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’” – Matthew 5:27-28.

Think of this ── how can one lust after their neighbor, when the LORD God will prepare them ── someday ── for the glorious family of God?

The Ten Commandments, spiritually magnified by our Lord Jesus Christ, can be divided into two groups of commandments ── love for God, and love for neighbor.

EVERY HUMAN BEING ── whether they be Jewish, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Russian, Yemenis, or Egyptian ── are our neighbors! Keeping and obeying the Commandments of God hinges on always remembering that every human being will one day have the glorious opportunity to be a member of the family of God!

Our neighbors ── even the one that might have cursed you, or hates you, or who has spitefully used you and tried to assassinate your good character ── were also created in the LORD God’s image, according to the LORD God’s likeness, and they too can become God – cf. Psalm 82:6; John 10:34.

Are you beginning to see and hear what the Spirit has to say concerning the IMPORTANCE that the LORD God places on our relationships between all human beings (the “good, bad, and the ugly”) created in the image and likeness of the LORD God? This should come front and center to our minds in how our Lord Jesus Christ dealt with His “enemies” ── the very ones that tried to repeatedly stone Him, and those that would eventually murder Him. He knew their potential upon their repentance. This too must be the underlying premise upon which we base our every thought and deed toward our neighbors. Our Lord Jesus teaches us, “’ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.’” – Luke 6:31.

Returning again to 1st Corinthians chapter 13, the apostle Paul writes ──

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not [easily] provoked, thinks no evil; 6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7) bears all things, believes all things [that are truthful], hopes all things, endures all things.

8) Love never fails …

13) And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13.

The apostle our Lord Jesus loved also spoke of love ──

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

And we, in this 21st-century world, cannot help but think of the vicious, vile, and evil Houthis, Hamas, al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hezbollah, the IRGC, and even the Tren de Aragua ── who have no love, therefore DOES NOT KNOW GOD!

9) In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the Atonement] for our sins. 11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12) … If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13) By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. …

20) If someone says, ‘ انا احب لله !,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21) And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” – 1 John 4:7-11, 12, 20-21. □