Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
December 2, 2011
Read Ephesians 5:2
“And walk in love as Christ loved us…”
Are you trying to work up the love of Christ or walk it out? The latter is what we are called to do. The former leads only to frustration and failure. We are not called to try to be as loving as Christ is. We are not called to do all we can to love as much as Jesus did. That is simply impossible for sinners to do. We are called to “walk in love.” not to work it up. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples before he went to the cross in John 15. “As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9) He told them the secret here of living his love. The secret to walking in love is to abide or remain in his presence as he remains in his father’s presence. It is in that presence that we are kept filled with and surrounded by the raw supernatural love of God. As we walk in it we are changed by it and literally become vessels of the love/power of God.
Are you and I walking literally in the sphere of Christ’s supernatural love or are we trying to work up our own love in order to make ourselves look more like Him? In Romans 5:5 we discover that the love of Christ has been infused (i.e. poured) into us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. I am to live my life in closeness to Jesus so that his love fills my being and surrounds me. Wherever I go then his love goes.
My daughter Grace used to have a pet Gerbil, named Julie. I had no idea how many cool gadgets come with these little domesticated Rodents until Julie came along. Grace fixed Julie up with an enviable dwelling place. It was a two level apartment with tubes going all over the place so Julie could move about freely. As long as she abided in that dwelling she was safe from our ever vigilant cat, who was always looking for a four pawed snack. Another accessory was a little plastic ball Julie could be placed into when Grace wanted her to take a stroll around the house. It was cool. You could put her inside and let her roll all over the living room in the safety of the plastic sphere. She would run inside the ball crashing into walls and furnishings, to the frustration of our cat. In that ball Julie could move freely and safely in her impenetrable mobile fortress.
This is an example of how we believers are to walk in love. As we abide close to Jesus and allow his love to influence our thinking and actions we walk in the protection and power of his love. The love of Christ is not an emotion or a sentiment. This love is the life giving energy of God himself provided by the Holy spirit. We must learn how to simply walk in it rather than trying to muster up our own pious feelings of love. Begin spending time with Jesus asking him to place you in the impenetrable mobile fortress of his love. Become desperate for his Holy Spirit to pour love into your soul so that it leaks out in your words and actions. Today may each of us walk in the real power of Christ’s love so that everywhere we go the world sees that he is alive because they see him alive in us.
Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)
