By: Rev Blessing Odetoyinbo
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid, as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5 KJV)
Jesus Christ came to earth for a singular reason: He loves the world. He took all the pain and anguish, We see in the above scriptural passages how he suffered for the love He has for the whole world, though this passage is a prophecy on how He would suffer for His love for us but He came and fulfilled the prophecy without flinching. He was despised and rejected of men but He took it all. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet it took it all. He was afflicted with pain and was wounded for His love, He took it all without complaints because His love was unconditional. He did not do all these things because we deserve His love but because He loves us and decided to do it all for His love.
Love is a very common word, uttered by everyone, In fact any human being that knows how to speak well starting from the age of four would have said the word LOVE at least once in his or her life time. We use the word very often without knowing the meaning of it at all. I believe love is a very heavy word that shouldn’t be used just any how without meaning what is being said. I’m here to discuss biblical love that is expected of us as children of God to practice in order to emulate our Lord and Savior in the way and manner He showed His love to us.
Ability to take all the insult, pain, shame and suffering for the person you love and still stand after all the test and temptation. Don’t tell me it’s not possible to take all the pain for your loved ones. It’s possible because I’m sure that God will not tell us something that is not doable at all. If God asks us to do something as His children, it means He has given us the ability or He has deposited the grace in us to be able to do what He asks us to do.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV)
God is faithful! He will definitely help you if you cry to Him when the pain of love is unbearable. He will surely give you a way of escape through His Word and Spirit when you think you cannot cope anymore with the sacrifice you have to give because of your love. THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN THAT ACTS ON THE WORD AND RELIES ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Word of God is there to tell us how to love but the Holy Spirit is to teach, show and help us to do it.
There is no way you can take it all without the two of them. NO WAY! There is a limit to human endurance, but when you have the two of them in your life,there is no limit to what you can do. Your ability and capability to love is not your own anymore but Theirs. As you fellowship and relate with Them every day, they will enlarge your heart and give you limitless capability to love without expecting anything back. The Holy Spirit will take the word you have stored in your heart and breath on it for your use in the time of need. People may think you are a fool for taking it all but you will know you are not one because it›s not you working but THE WORD OF GOD IN YOU AND THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT DWELLS IN YOU.
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” (Ephesians 5:22-24 KJV)
Have you ever wondered why a woman is not told to love her husband? God knows it’s not a difficult thing for a woman to love. I’m talking about a woman that is a child of God. But to submit totally to the husband in all things is another matter. Submission in all things is taking it all for a woman without flinching. It takes grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit for a woman to submit to her own husband in EVERYTHING. No woman can do this outside the Word of God and the help of the Holy Spirit but as I have said earlier if God knows you don’t have the ability and capacity to do it as a woman God wouldn’t have asked you. Yes, you have what it takes as a daughter of Zion to TAKE IT ALL from your husband. You just cannot do it alone, the Holy Spirit must be your Senior Partner. Don’t be a waster, make use of divine grace, deposit and investment God has graciously given to you as His daughter. YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU ASK FOR HIS HELP TO SUBMIT IN ALL THINS TO YOUR HUSBAND WHO IS GODLY AND GOD FEARING.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” (Ephesians 5:25 KJV)
Husbands are told to love their wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it. If God knows that husbands cannot take it all as Christ did, God wouldn’t have told them to do so but a natural man cannot do this, it takes the help of God for a man to be able to love his wife as Christ loved the church, but it’s doable by His help. If a man wants to do it with His own ability he will surely fail woefully and completely but if he trust God and make up his mind to obey the Word and receive the help of the Holy Spirit, he will surely have the ability to take it all.
Agape or unconditional love does not just happen, it comes through decision, strong determination, sacrifice and obedience to the Word of God. There is no human being that is perfect on earth so it means for you to be able to take it all from your wife, your focus should not be on her, your focus must be on Christ at all times. LOVE IS NOT WHAT YOU FEEL BUT THE GOOD WORK YOU DO DESPITE ALL ODDS. The Word of God must be your constant companion and continual reminder for you to pass the great test of unconditional love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,” (Galatians 5:22 KJV)
Nobody can live in the kingdom of God without love and I want you to remember that Jesus Christ said the kingdom is in you if you are His child.
«nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! ’ or ‘There! ’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:21).
Love is the language of the kingdom that is why love is the first fruit of the Spirit that was mentioned. You cannot be a partaker of the kingdom without love. If you don’t have the Spirit of love inside you, there is no way you can make it to heaven. NO WAY! Check your life, do you have this Spirit? Do you love somebody you know ordinarily you shouldn’t love? I’m not talking about carnal love now, I’m talking about loving somebody that has hurt you deep and asking yourself where the love is coming from?
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