Properly Purely Permanently

06.01.14

Romans 13.10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (NIV)

It is pretty simple: Love does no harm to a neighbor. Love fulfills the other ‘Ten’ because love does no harm to the person next to you. It seems the answer to all of life’s temptations and trials is wrapped up very well: Love God, love people.

A friend of mine chants this mantra: nothing to gain, nothing to lose; nothing to hide, nothing to prove. I’m not sure where he got it but it fits in with the Love Theme. If I quit jockeying for position or possession or power or prestige then I’ve really nothing to gain. If I rest in Christ and all He has for me and all He is in me, then I’ve nothing to lose; I have it all in Him.

If I’ve learned to live sincerely and with purity then I’ve nothing to hide. Skulking around in undisciplined thoughts and evil desires brings the necessity to hide them and pretend they don’t exist. Pretenders have much to hide and especially much to lose if they are found out; and they will be found out – sooner or later. We cannot hide who we are inside forever – it is too much effort; it is beyond the strength of a man. The weight of insincerity it too much for any person to lift for too long; eventually their strength will fail.

And, nothing to prove. At the end of all things it will just be Jesus and me. I will have no defense to bring before the throne, and all of who I am (and was) will be laid bare. No excuses, no smoke and mirrors, nothing. Just Jesus asking: Son, what did you do with all I gave you?

I think that’s where and when love will be the covering. I think that is when all of what I hoped for in life will be will find its ultimate answer: Jesus, I learned to love You because I did what You asked me to do; and I learned to love my fellow man. And You Jesus, made it all possible.

You see I will be held accountable, and as my friend Matt Sand says, that will all hinge on my relationship with Christ and how His love changed my love from that of my ‘self’, to that of others. Loving ourselves is a given – we all do that! Loving others is the test and that is where we must succeed: in putting others in that place of love that we place our self. And when we do, we’ll find love is the fulfillment of the Law. Not the Mosaic Law, but the Law of the Kingdom because it will be the Law of our Loving King.

If I could only see at times how petty, evil, and impure my thoughts are toward others then I would quickly see how much I don’t want to be treated that way – that’s how much I love myself. But when I get to that place of nothing to gain, nothing to lose, nothing to hide, nothing to prove then I am freed to love others properly, purely, and permanently. I think that is what Jesus is asking me to do.

Lord, today Your word spoke powerfully to me. I must learn to shed the pettiness and evil in me that I entertain in my thoughts and replace them with unconditional love – the love that You have shown me; and then, Lord, I’ll find peace, pleasure, and permanence in Your presence – that is what I think You are working in me. Thank You. Amen.