WHAT LOVE IS NOT

 

Saturday, February 11, 2023

 

WHAT LOVE IS NOT

 

Gal 5:14-16

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

 

          In the middle of these three verses is a most curious warning. Loving one another is the defining characteristic of those who have faith in Christ. Walking in the Spirit is the confirmation of that relationship. So, why is there a warning about biting and devouring one another? Because it is a real danger.

 

          God gave the church one commandment and one commission. We are commanded to love one another even as Christ loved the church, and we are commissioned to reach the lost with the Gospel. These should keep us sufficiently occupied that there should not be any room for gnawing each other.

 

          Warren Wiersbe observed that “We are prone to go to extremes. One believer interprets liberty as license and thinks he can do whatever he wants to do. Another believer, seeing this error, goes to an opposite extreme and imposes Law on everybody. Somewhere between license on the one hand and legalism on the other hand is true Christian liberty.” If we spend ourselves in purging the church, we will have neither the energy nor the will to reach the lost. The answer is balance.

 

          Recently someone put forth an interesting concept regarding the working of the Holy Spirit. Believers are predisposed at righting wrong and bringing things in agreement with Christ. If we are not engaged in reaching lost sinners then we will fall into a pattern of judging one another. This is the biting, gnawing, and devouring. I have noticed that the Holy Spirit is either working through me or He is working within me to bring me into agreement with Christ.

 

Lord, bless our church with the balance needed to reach the lost. AMEN