1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10  Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.  And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia.  Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5  And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.  Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.  And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.

The Lord's generosity to us goes far beyond our abilities to understand.  While we were yet sinners, undone, uncompromisingly wicked, He came to us with a heart of love and rescued us from eternal damnation through the giving of himself on the cross for our redemption.  Now, we, the once eternally contaminated ones, have found grace, mercy, and salvation in the eyes of the Lord .  "Love lifted me," and love lifted you.  We who are now in the household of God rest there securely forever because of God's unfailing love for the unloveable.  In the Thessalonian passage above, we see that same love functioning in a young church under persecution.  Paul says, we do not need to write to you about brotherly love, for you yourselves have been taught by GOD to love each other.  The same love that exists in God's heart for us should be in each of us for others because the heavenly gift of the Holy Spirit resides in each of us richly.  If we are IN CHRIST, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us; therefore, his attributes of love, compassion, and generosity change our attitudes and motivate our actions.   Our friends and family will see a change in our behavior and readily see Christ in us.  You, however, (who are in Christ Jesus) are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:9-11)  The more we walk in the Spirit, obeying the Spirit's leading, the easier it becomes to turn from our selfish pursuits so that we might love others as Christ has loved us and to do so more and more. 

The steadfast love of God, the love that caused Christ to humble himself and go to the cross is manifested in our lives in countless ways.  We learn this love as we walk with our Lord, meditate on his Word, pray earnestly, and yield to the Spirit.  Paul wrote: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 2:5)  Throughout his earthly ministry, we see Christ functioning as a love servant to all who put their trust in him.  Love's best manifestation comes through seeking first the kingdom of God, preferring others over ourselves.  When we are willing to serve others, we display God's transforming love to them through who we are.  When the love of God is fully released, his love turns the world upside down.  Those who seek to rule in this world want their own little kingdoms where others bow to their wishes and desires.  Those who surrender to the Lord ask Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit to control their lives.  Believers seek humility rather than arrogance.  We travel the second mile rather than the one required.  The world cannot understand and rejects a life immersed in God, for such a life contrasts sharply with the selfishness and decadence of those who reject God's love.  People walking according to their carnal flesh believe they go around only once, so why should they give sacrificially to others.  Jesus said that a servant who comes into the household at the end of day after working hard in the dusty fields does not go to his room to rest and freshen up before he approaches the master; instead, he seeks out the master first to ask if there is anything else he should do.  This is what a true servant does.  No quick shower and then to the master; no ten minute rest on the bed and then go to serve.  No, a good and faithful servant goes first to the master and asks if there is anything else he can do.  Love exhausts itself by serving.  When Peter talked about service, he said, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.  If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  (1 Peter 4:7-11)  This is the love that Paul described--the brotherly love the Thessalonians already embraced and shared with each other and all the brothers throughout Macedonia .  

An illustration of the Thessalonian's love is that we see them sending gifts to the poor even though they were experiencing grinding poverty and persecution themselves.  God had implanted the reality of Christ's love towards them through sound teaching by the Holy Spirit that they received with open hearts and minds. They knew by the Holy Spirit's revelation that God had been inexplicably generous to them by allowing Jesus Christ's to die on the cross for their sinful, implacable souls.  Eternal salvation was theirs because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and they were growing in his mercy and grace.  His wonderful generosity impelled them to be instruments of Christ's love to the world.  If we are not continually alert, we will fail to appreciate the love of God in the same way as the Thessalonians and others in the early church who loved God so completely and so deeply.  We have so many responsibilities and distractions in our overly busy lives we can easily lose track of the magnificent price God paid for our salvation, our freedom from sin.  Because of Christ, we have been placed on a firm foundation, free from eternal damnation.  Paul reminded the church at Galatia: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  (Galatians 5:1)  What a glorious transformation to be freed from the chains of sin and allowed to serve our risen Lord.  Because of Christ, we are treasured children of God--joint heirs with Jesus, our elder brother who paved the way for our entrance to eternal life.  We are no longer lost in a sea of meaninglessness: we are now children of the Creator of All Things.  What heavenly peace that knowledge brings to our hearts!  Out of our innermost being love and generosity spills out to the world.  However, if we our deficient in our love towards others, if there is not a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit in us, if servanthood is a difficult concept for us, we need to kneel again at the cross where the Lamb was slain and remember the words: You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:42-45)  Serve the Lord and others with a glad heart today!