Whatever is lovely
The Truth of the greatest command, is the Truth of God that drives the core of faith in His Son. Beliveing that God's Truth and only His Truth is best spread by finding the ways to think of our actions in regards to love, and the example set by Christ. Then loving someone in the same way. Lovely is a difficult one to break down because it is only used in that context once. And is a combo of 2 Greek words.
Brian says Lets look to what Jesus has to say:
“As the living Father has sent Me and I live by the Father, so He who partakes of Me shall live by Me.”
A large part of the gospel is to be awakened to Christ who indwells in us - not as a doctrine or theology, but as a living, breathing Person whose life we can live by. He is alive in us.
Jesus Christ lived His life by an indwelling Father. I feel in the same way, we as believers can only live the Christian life by an indwelling Christ. This I believe is the central part of the gospel.
It’s rather a matter of imitating the way He lived His life in order to produce that fruit. It is to get in touch with what runs His outward activities, and to “do likewise.”
This puts us on a collision course with the matter of living by an indwelling Lord. So, I would feel that we think on things we do not based on what would Jesus do, but more toward what He is doing in us.
So I guess I would lean toward "with regard for Love" since His love indwells in us.”
Paul writes in Ephesians 3
16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
"In Regard to Love." Yes... Christ being the embodiment of Love indwells that love in us. So our thinking should be in understanding what that love means. The things we think about as lovely should be how Christ sees them.
But thinking on love is one thing, acting on it is another.
We can not take the word “love” flippantly, the word Love means way to much to the Truth of Christ. Love is everything that God commands us to do.
Mathew 22:36-40 ″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
To love someone means finding a need and filling it. Sometimes you will never even mention you are a follower of Christ. Sometimes no scripture is needed to spread the Truth of Love. When we are acting in regard for the love of Christ all that needs to be said is through our actions.
Sometimes loving someone can cause hurt when belief in the Truth causes relationships to be strained. When we stand up for the Truth of God, or point out an inconsistency with the Truth, we are loving those people. We are trying to lead them to Christ, the ultimate example of love. But more often than not(because they are blind to the truth) they see it as a rebuke, and do not see the love. I wonder if they are blind to it because the approach was not in love but self righteousness? Which is the opposite of loving.
The answer must always be if someone asks why we are Loving on them, we point them to Christ.
We love on fellow believers, just as we find the ways to love on non believers. To do so knowing that God and Christ are our model of love, and then love based on that example. As followers of Christ we love because faith in Christ commands us to. Love because Christ is Truth and Love. Love because He loves you.
Eph 2:4 -10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
What are some ways you live in Regards to Love?
