Love replaces sin
For the past few weeks there is an ongoing theme raging. Can the world truly understand what it means to love more deeply? What will it take to make the world understand the need to love more deeply through actions and not words. To learn to filter actions through love, and not hate. Love and not selfishness. For this world to change, for this world to unite: Love must become an action without expecting return. For the world to do that each one of us must filter out the selfishness of sin in our lives so we can fully love without conditions.
When Christ gave the greatest commend he used the word “Agapao” and where the word Agape comes from. When reading the definitions for those words they read as “love towards” another, seems to imply action. Where Fileo, or Eros are love of another based on feelings of admiration or approval, or what we get from the relationship. The greatest commandment is a call to action by Christ, but that action in our life is hindered because we continue to fall to the lies of this world.
We must be willing to filter through the garbage and noise of life that leads to sin, so that we can move forward toward loving. We then must forgetting what is in the past. If love is the act of finding a need and filling it, sin is action that will drive decisions to do or not do something. Sin is the action of trying to fulfill our own needs instead of the needs of others.
We often feel we are missing out or become frustrated when we sin and see patterns of sin in our lives. I use Romans 12: 1-2 a lot, but is does say,
Do not conform to the patterns of this world.
We listen to the lies for this world and get caught in the pattern of self fulfillment, which is the complete opposite of Christ. (Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.) That is what sin is and can be a pattern of selfish action and those sins lead to guilt of not loving. Satan will use that guilt to make you feel hopeless and not allow you to break out of the pattern that drives you back to certain sins.
Our human/sinful nature will not allow us to forget our sin, and we often think that we should change our actions based on the guilt of sin. That guilt can take our joy, hope and focus off the example Christ set by loving us.
In Chapter 3 of Philippians, Paul is talking about his lack of confidence in relying on the flesh, he goes on to say:
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul is telling us by his example that Christ took hold of our flesh for us, took hold of the sinful nature. Now that Christ has hold of us we can filter out and forget the old way, and move forward toward Him, move forward and replace the sin with loving action.
By getting sin out of the way, putting it in the past, and now wearing a more biblical pair of glasses, the challenge becomes.
1. Loving God more today than you did yesterday.
2. Loving your family/friends more today than you did yesterday.
3. Accomplish one more step towards the goals of 1 and 2 today than we did yesterday.
Love needs to replace sin. It is that simple.
