Jesus was arrested and later crucified during the Passover celebration. Before He died, He gave His disciples a new commandment: “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34–35).
Over in Romans 5:5 it says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” God not only commands us to love one another, but He also gives us the love to do it with!
When we were born again, God’s love was shed abroad—or put—in our hearts. We never have to pray for love. It’s already there.
Now then, love is a fruit. It’s the first fruit of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22–23.) It can grow. But we need to develop the love that was given to us. If we feed that love on the Word and exercise it, it will grow.
What do I mean by “exercising love”? Act like you would if you did love. That’s how love grows!
Jeremiah prophesied about this new commandment of love.
What do I mean by “exercising love”? Act like you would if you did love. That’s how love grows!
JEREMIAH 31:33
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The prophet Jeremiah said, “I will put my law in their inward parts.” Notice the word “law.” It’s singular, not plural.
Let’s look at what Ezekiel prophesied.
EZEKIEL 36:26–27
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Under the old covenant, God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. But under the new covenant, He writes on the tablets of our hearts.
ROMANS 13:8–10
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
No longer do we have to be bothered with a lot of do’s and don’ts. When we walk in love, that covers everything.
Love works no ill to its neighbor or to anyone. To the husband or wife. To children. To parents. To fellow Christians.
I made up my mind that I would walk in love whether or not anybody else did. I’ve had a great time trying. I may not have always done it, but I’ve been close. That’s why before I said or did something, I would always stop and think, “How will this affect the other person?” Many times, I couldn’t do something. That law was in my heart.
Love does not wrong somebody. So let’s decide to first question how our words or actions will affect another person. Then, let’s walk in love.
Author
Kenneth E. Hagin
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