August 23 - Love Genuinely 거짓 없이 사랑하라

August 23 - Love Genuinely

 

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” -1 John 4:7

 

 

First, John 4:7-10 returns to the theme of love. Here, John explains how true, godly love in a person's life signifies being born again. Those who truly love God will act on that love toward other people. At a minimum, those who don’t demonstrate love have no fellowship with God. Love is something God showed us first by sending Christ. Our love for Him is ultimately rooted in His original love for us. We are again reminded that true love involves acting, not just feeling.

 

John begins by once again addressing his readers as "beloved." He then mentions both love and God th

ree times each. First, believers are to "love one another." This reflects the commandments of Jesus (John 13:34–35) and John's prior teaching on recognizing a life influenced by Christ (1 John 2:7–11). Second, believers should love one another because "love is from God." The ability to act lovingly towards others is one of the benefits of a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Third, someone who loves God has "been born of God and knows God." 

 

This last statement includes two separate ideas. The person who is "born of God" is a saved Christian believer (John 3). The natural, expected result is for that person to have a close relationship with Him. This results in that person "knowing" God. A person cannot love God adequately without being born again. Nor can a person truly love others apart from God's love. Those who demonstrate godly love prove that they are saved.

 

Love is the essence and motivation of Christian living. And love is the essence of God. Three lessons about love are found in 1 Peter 1. 

We should love genuinely. It is to love everyone as Jesus did: the sick, the blind, the person with a disability, the lonely, the widow, the poor, a prostitute, a dishonest tax collector, a Roman soldier, and a child. Jesus told us to love everyone. Peter speaks of three conditions for genuine love. 

 

First, we should purify our soul (1 Peter 1:22). The soul is to be purified by the blood of Jesus Christ, who is blameless. To love genuinely, our sins should first be cleansed. We should obey the truth. Jesus is the source of all truth, the way, truth, and life (John 14:6). The truth, love, and obedience work together (John 14:15, 21, 23). 

 

Second, we should love earnestly with all our hearts. Jesus told us to love Him wholeheartedly (Mark 12:30-31). 

We should love God and our brothers and sisters earnestly. Christian love is not one way but both ways. When Christian love is both ways, we become one and love each other deeply. Christians in the early church demonstrated this kind of love. And their love was a natural expression of salvation.

 

Third, we should love with a pure heart. The heart is a person's core, where intellect, emotion, and will are found. The Bible says different things come out of our mouths and hearts. God wants us to love with a pure heart. A pure heart also comes from God. This kind of genuine, earnest, and pure love toward brothers and sisters is possible as God enables us to love others.

 

 

Today’s Prayer: Pray that your family and friends will seek God’s face (Psalm 24:3) and be allowed into h

his presence through Christ. Ask God to work with power on a particular need in your home.

Prayer Pointer: Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us. - Socrates

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:105-176; 1 Corinthians 5

 

 

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8월 23일 - 거짓 없이 사랑하라

 

“사랑하는 자들아 우리가 서로 사랑하자 사랑은 하나님께 속한 것이니 사랑하는 자 마다 하나님께로 나서 하나님을 알고” - 요일 4:7

 

 

요한일서 4:7-10에서 요한은 사랑의 주제로 거듭난 자의 표시가 어떻게 진실하고 경건한 사랑으로 나타나는지 설명합니다. 하나님을 진정으로 사랑하는 자는 다른 사람들에게 하나님의 사랑을 나타냅니다. 하나님과의 교제가 없으면 하나님의 사랑이 나타나지 않습니다. 하나님의 사랑은 그리스도를 우리에게 보냄으로 나타났고 우리가 하나님을 사랑하는 것은 본래 하나님의 사랑에 근거한 것이고 진정한 사랑은 감정이 아닌 행하는 사랑입니다.   

 

요한은 서신의 독자들을 "사랑하는 자들아"라고 부릅니다. 그는 사랑과 하나님을 각각 세 번 언급합니다. 첫째, 신자들은 "서로 사랑"해야 합니다. 이것은 예수님의 계명(요 13:34-35)과 그리스도의 본받은 삶을 인식한 요한의 가르칩입니다(요일 2:7-11). 둘째, 신자들이 서로 사랑해야 하는 이유는 "사랑은 하나님께로부터 왔기" 때문입니다. 사람들을 사랑할 수 있는 능력은 그리스도와의 친밀한 관계에서 오는 축복중의 하나입니다. 셋째, 하나님을 진정으로 사랑하는 사람은 "하나님에게서 났고 하나님을 아는 사람"입니다. 

 

여기 마지막 말씀에 두 가지 사상이 포함되어 있습니다. "하나님께로부터 난" 사람은 구원받은 그리스도인입니다(요 3장). 거듭난자의 기대하는 자연스러운 결과는 하나님과의 가까운 교제입니다. 그러므로 거듭난 자는 하나님을 알게됩니다. 사람은 거듭나지 않고는 하나님을 사랑할 수 없습니다. 또한 하나님의 사랑 없이는 다른 사람을 진정으로 사랑할 수 없습니다. 하나님의 사랑을 보여주는 사람은 자신이 구원 받았음을 증명하는 것입니다. 

 

사랑은 그리스도인의 삶의 본질이며 동기입니다. 그리고 사랑은 하나님의 본질입니다. 베드로전서 1장에서 사랑에 대한 세 가지 교훈이 나타납니다 우리는 예수님께서 행하신 것처럼 모든 사람을 진정으로 사랑해야 합니다. 병든 자, 눈먼 자, 불구자, 외로운 자, 과부, 가난한 자, 매춘부, 부정직한 세금 징수원, 로마 군인, 어린이 등 모두를 사랑해야 합니다.  예수님은 모두를 사랑하라고 하셨습니다. 베드로는 진정한 사랑의 세 가지 조건를 말합니다. . 

 

첫째, 우리의 영혼을 정결하게 해야 합니다(벧전 1:22). 영혼은 흠이 없으신 예수 그리스도의 보배로운 피로 정결해야 합니다. 진정으로 사랑하기 위해서는 먼저 우리의 죄가 깨끗해져야 하고 진리에 순종해야 합니다. 예수은 모든 진리의 근원이요, 길이요, 진리요 생명 이십니다(요 14:6). 진리와 사랑과 순종은 함께 역사합니다 (요한복음 14:15, 21, 23). 

 

둘째, 우리는 온 마음을 다해 간절히 사랑해야 합니다. 예수님은 온 마음을 다해 하나님을 사랑하라고 말씀하셨습니다(막 12:30-31). 그러므로 우리는 하나님과 형제자매들을 진심으로 사랑해야 합니다. 그리스도인의 사랑의 방법은 한 가지가 아니라 두 가지입니다. 우리의 사랑이 양방향일 때, 하나가 되고 서로를 깊이 사랑하게 됩니다. 초대교회 교인들은  이런 사랑을 보여주었습니다. 그리고 그들의 사랑은 구원받음의 자연스러운 표현이었습니다.

 

셋째, 우리는 청결한 마음으로 사랑해야 합니다. 마음에서 우리의 지성, 감정 및 의지가 시작됩니다. 성경은 우리의 입과 마음에서 다른 것들이 나온다고 말합니다. 하나님은 우리가 청결한 마음으로 사랑하기를 원하시며 청결한 마음은 하나님이 주십니다. 하나님께서 우리로 다른 사람들을 사랑하게 하실 때 형제와 자매를 진심과 순수하게 사랑할 수 있습니다. 

 

 

오늘의 기도: 당신의 가족과 친구들의 하나님의 얼굴을 구하도록 기도하고(시 24:3) 그리스도를 통하여 주님의 존전 앞에 나갈 수 있도록 기도하십시오 하나님께서 당신의 가정에 특별한 일에 대한 역사하여 주시도록 간구하십시오

기도 지침: 우리의 기도는 일반적으로 축복을 위한 것이어야 한다. 그 이유는 하나님은 우리를 위한 최상이 무엇인가를 알기 때문이다. – 스크라테스

성경 읽기: 시편 119:105-178; 고린도전서 5장