November 2, 2015 – Galatians 5:13-15
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. Galatians 5:13-15Love your neighbor as yourself…when we hear those words, immediately we want to know who is our neighbor. No use being kind to someone who isn’t our neighbor. And we try to pick and choose our neighbors. No use wasting the neighborliness quotient. When the true love of God resides on our hearts, we have the DNA of brotherly love. We begin seeing as our Lord God does — not the outer actions — but the heart.How can we love God we cannot see, when we can’t love those who we can see. God gave us the greatest gift when he showed us our greatest gift. He gave us a lesson, when He gave us his Son to be our way into righteousness. When we begin unwrapping His Gift by believing and trusting and having faith in Him, He gives us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts.Love looks ahead, not behind. Love forgives without the ogre of self intruding. Love serves others without expectations of returns. Love gives and does not take away. Love IS life – everlasting and not death.Love is receiving the righteousness God by faith that is promised and we wait eagerly.Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? John 14:1-2But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. Galatians 5:5