1 John 4:8
God is LOVE
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Hebrews 11:1-40
Looking at Faith
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 22:36-40
The Greatest Commandment
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Proverbs 19:8 (KJV)
Love Your Own Soul
8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
Matthew 5:43-48 (KJV)
Love Your Enemies
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:12
The Rewards of Heaven
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I think faith and love come very close to being one and the same, once we are in heaven...Faith leads us to love...And in another sense, love leads us to our faith...Love is about the here and now, but love also refers to a later reward, and great will be this reward in heaven...This would be because the rewards of heaven will be loved...And this very much relates to faith and how the Hebrew author explains faith to us...The author says, now faith is having the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see will come to us...This is what the ancient men and women of faith were commended for...These men and women had the belief that God would be there for them in the future...These men and women of faith knew that God is LOVE and that they too were to love...For without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him...And often these rewards are done after we die and are in heaven...So when we speak of faith, we can see it is also tied to pleasing God and loving God...Because if we want to please Him, and those we want to please are those we want to love...And like the ancient ones, the rewards may come later when we are in heaven...
All these people of faith were still living by faith when they died...They did not receive the things promised when they were living; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth...People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return...Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one...One, in which they could live with God...Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them...
When Jesus gave us the Golden Rule, it seemed very much like a common sense rule, but it is not just common sense -because it is all about love...But always loving God, always loving your neighbor, and always loving your enemies is not that common and not that easy...So when Jesus said, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." -He knew we would struggle with this...He adds, that we are to love God, and we are to love neighbor, for these are the Two Greatest Commandments...There is so much about love in the Bible...Jesus tells us that all the books of the Laws of Moses and all the books the Prophets wrote hang off the words of love...Solomon in the Proverbs tells us to love our souls...Jesus tells us to even love our enemies...
So when we look at the verses of us loving our enemies, loving our own souls, and the Golden Rule, and we are to do to others what you would have them do to you -there is a presupposition that we love ourselves...We are not to be enemies of ourselves, and in case we are enemies of ourselves, we are to love ourselves -because we are to love our enemies...Just as we are to treat our neighbors as we treat ourselves...We must love our own souls, love our neighbors, and love God and trust in Him that He will reward us in heaven...These things of love take faith...And we can see that these things often take time, a lifetime, for our faith will meet LOVE in heaven...