Hosanna Restoration Church

Why is love so important? It makes everything work! Love was God’s motivation for making man, giving him dominion, and for taking on flesh and dying so that we could come back to fellowship with Him. Everyone knows that love is a powerful thing. Love can make people do the strangest things. God’s love is the power that enables us to do and be all that He has planned for our lives.

The list of things that God tells us to clothe ourselves with (vs. 13) is very similar to the passage in 1 Corinthians 13, which defines what love is. If we attempt to do what those words describe because we have to do them we will fail miserably. God does not intend these things to be a burden, but rather what sets us truly free!

How can we be tenderhearted when some one has offended us? How can we be merciful to someone who goes against everything we hold dear? How can we be kind to someone who is unkind or gentle and patient with someone who drives us crazy? Last but certainly not least, how can God expect us to forgive people who offend us. Note that God does not say anything about forgiving them after they have apologized or made restitution or anything else. He simply says forgive them. And if we are so silly as to wonder why God expects us to do that, He reminds us that He forgave us. Now there is something that should bring us back to a proper attitude of humility.

There is no doubt that love can make all those things flow in perfect harmony. When we are motivated by love we have no problem forgiving people. When we love someone we can bear with them even if they are not kind. We have no problem being patient when we have love on. Sadly enough, we are also capable of being the most impatient with the very people we actually love the most. I am sure glad that God is not like that.

God also says to allow the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts. His peace is overflowing with the Love of God. But as we noted before, we must make the effort to put these things on. We must first desire to be what God has called us to be and then commit ourselves to allowing Him to work it out in our lives.

If we say we desire to do this and yet refuse to make the effort, then we really do not desire this at all. If we say we will decide who to be patient or kind to or whom we will forgive, we will never know the peace of God. God does not give us the option of picking and choosing what is convenient for us. The requirements are a package deal and the blessings are a package deal. Like it or not, that is the way it is. At first appearance it may sound like too much, but in the end it is always easiest to do things God’s way. And His way is love.