退火正火淬火回火:THE G OD K IND OF L OVE”

T his i s a l ove f amily. T he God kind of l ove has been shed abroad in our h earts.
J OHN 13:35 35 By this s hall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another.

If we would learn to let that l ove of God which i s in our h earts dominate, it would make a d iffe­ rence in our l ives. It would cure the i lls of our h omes. T his kind of l ove has never been to a d ivorce c ourt, and w ill n ever go. It was natural human l ove that went there. Now I didn’t say that C hristians haven’t been there, because they have. But they weren’t letting the l ove of God dominate t hem. T he God kind of l ove i s not interested in ‘what I can get.’ but in ‘what I can g ive.’ T oo many are selfish. And even though they a re Christians they let the natural dominate t hem. It happens in churches. “I’ve got my say-so and I’m going to have it.” “I’m a member of this church just as much as anyone else is and I’m going to have my say-so.” Thank God, He is my Father! Thank God, He is a l ove God! Thank God, I am a l ove child of a l ove God! I am born of God, and God is l ove, so I am born of l ove. T he nature of God is in you if you are His c hild. And the nature of God is l ove. So it is natural f or you, spiritually, to l ove. But if you let your outward man and your mind dominate, even though that l ove-nature i s within your heart—it is kept prisoner. Release the l ove of God which is within you! What about the God-kind of l ove? What are its c haracteristics? T hey a re g iven to us in I C orin­ thians 13. W e’ll e xamine them f rom the King James and the A mplified t ranslations. L ove suffereth long, and is kind ( KJ)…A lot of p eople suffer long, but they a ren’t kind w hile they do it. The A mplified r eads, ” Love endures long and is patient and kind…” L ove e nvieth not ( K J ) . .The A mplified s ays, ” Love n ever is envious nor boils o ver with j ealousy.” It is the natural human l ove which b oils o ver with jealousy—not this kind of l ove. L ove vaunteth not itself, it not puffed u p(KJ)… O r, as the A mplified r eads, “is not boastful or v ainglorious, d oes not display i tself haughtily.” Doth not behave i tself u nseemly, seeketh not her own ( KJ)…This l ove i sn’t seeking “what’s mine.”
M -34

How a re they going to know us? “if ye have l ove one to another.” And the l ove law of this l ove f amily i s:
JOHN 13:34 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also l ove one another.

And how did He l ove us? Because we d eserved it? N o, He l oved us w hile we were yet sinners.
J OHN 14:21,23 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall b e loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 23 …If a man love me, he will keep my w ords: and my F ather will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

T hese v erses point out that the one who keeps His commandments.. . (Remember H is command­ ments are that we l ove one another as He l oved u s)…”shall be l oved of my Father.” When you walk in l ove, you walk in the realm where God is. Because God is l ove. You walk in f ellowship with God. T he l ove shed abroad in your heart i s divine l ove; not natural human l ove. D ivine l ove i s not s elfish. “God so l oved that He g ave…” Natural human l ove i s selfish. It w ill even turn to hatred when it doesn’t get its own way.

it i s not conceited—arrogant and inflated with p ride: i t is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. L ove ( God’s l ove in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it i s not self-seeking ( Verse 5 A mplified.) Now I wish you would take time to let that soak in on you. ” Well, I know what’s mine though.” “I’ve got my say-so and I’m going to have it.” “I’ve got my rights and I’m going to have them.”—No matter how much they may hurt someone else. T his v erse says that l ove d oesn’t insist on its own rights. Can’t you see how the l ove of God practiced in the home would straighten things out. And how the l ove of God practiced in the church would do the same? . ..it i s not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the e vil done to it—pays no attention to a suffered wrong. ( Verse 5 A mp.) H ere i s the thermometer of l ove. T his is the l ove g auge. It’s v ery e asy to find out whether o r not you’re walking in l ove. When you begin to take account of the e vil that i s done to you, you a re not walking in l ove. Things have happened to me through the years as they have to you. Other ministers and even some of my relatives have told me, ” I wouldn’t take that i f I were you. I wouldn’t put up with that. Not me.” But I just kept my mouth shut and never said a word—just smiled and stayed happy. I wouldn’t take the time to deny it if they told on me that I ‘d k illed my grandma. I’d just keep shouting, “Hallelujah! G lory to God!” W e w ere enemies of God and He didn’t take account of the e vil we had done to Him. He was l ove and He sent Jesus to redeem us. He loved us w hile we were yet sinners. And did you know that He l oves us even more now that we a re His chldren? T he God-kind of l ove takes no account of the e vil done to it—pays no attention to a suffered w rong. H ere is God’s cure for e very d ivision in the church, the home, or wherever it is. This kind of l ove “pays no attention to a suffered w rong.” T here a ren’t too many people walking in G od’s l ove—even though they have it. T hey a re walking in natural human l ove and they sure pay attention to a suffered wrong.

It d oes not rejoice at injustice and unrighteouness, but rejoices when right and truth p revail. L ove b ears up under anything and e verything that c omes…(Verses 6, 7a, A mplified.) Someone s ays, ” I just c an’t take it any l onger!” L ove can! ” I just c an’t put up with him any longer.” Think about God. He’s putting up with us. L ove…is e ver r eady to b elieve the best of e very p erson…(7a A mp.) Natural human l ove i s ready to b elieve the w orst. But this kind of l ove i s e ver r eady to b elieve the best of e very p erson: husband, w ife, b rother or sister in the church, children, neigh­ bor, etc. I have travelled across the country preaching and teaching, and it is amazing what you w ill hear on this p reacher, this p erson, t his deacon, this Sunday School teacher, this s inger, etc. I didn’t pay the least bit of attention to any of them. I don’t b elieve a w ord of it. I b elieve the best of e very p erson. Though someone has missed it, when you s ee the best in them and l ove them rightly, it w ill b ring out the best in them. Its hopes are fadeless under a ll circumstances and it endures everything (without w eakening). L ove n ever fails—never fades out or becomes o bsolete o r comes to an end. (7b, 8a Amp.) T his kind of l ove w orks in the home, or church, or wherever—because t his kind of l ove n ever f ails! L ove n ever faileth: but whether there be pro­ phecies, they shall f ail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. ( Vs. 8 K J) W e a re interested in spiritual g ifts, and that i s right. But we should be i nterested in l ove f irst. Y es, I b elieve in prophecy and prophesying, in tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Thank God for them! But you can exercise these things without l ove and they become as sounding b rass and tinkling cymbal. L et’s have prophecy. Let’s have tongues. L et’s have faith. Let’s have k nowledge. But, l et’s have l ove with them! L et’s put l ove f irst because we are in the f amily of l ove.