The Litmus Test of Biblical Love
Biblical foundation and truths to build upon
The True Vine (John 15:1-17)
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another."
Love is the Greatest Gift (1 Corinthians 13)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is [d]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Thoughts and Introspection
Everything we do is based upon the foundation of love.
Why? Because God is love, it is not part of what He does but is ultimately who He is. You will find that the enemy can produce and manufacture everything else, EXCEPT the fruits of the Spirit. He cannot and will not cause you and strengthen you to love.
Only God can produce the real and lasting fruits of love.
Where does love take root?
Three P's
Proximity ➡️ Pruning ➡️ Production.
First is our posture and proximity to the Living God. If He is love and the only source of true Biblical love, then we cannot learn love apart from Him.
Stay close to Him. In Genesis. 17:1, the Lord commanded Abraham to "Walk closely with Him and be upright."
The lens of religion would depend on oneself and see that it is up to man to force himself to walk closer to God and then strive to keep himself upright. However, the lens of grace would acknowledge that we are unable to remain upright; that in humility, we accept that the only thing we can do is stay close to God and acknowledge that proximity to Him gives us more understanding and causes us to be more like Him. Once we begin to accommodate His light and love, we begin to assimilate His character and operate in His love. That ultimately leads us to be carriers of God's love and glory.
Remember, accommodate, assimilate, reflect. Then do that over and over again.
Second, pruning. We grow as we accommodate and assimilate. Through the pruning of our old self and allowing the flesh man to die daily, we begin to multiply. Apostle Paul cries out, "It is no longer I that lives, but Christ Jesus that lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh, I live for the Son of Man who died for me." With that proximity comes death. It means the losing of ourselves for the one whom our soul longs for. There has to be a progression between who you were, who you are now, and who you ought to be. And that process should cause you to mirror and reflect the love and life of Jesus Christ daily.
Lastly, you have to bear the lasting fruit of love. Remember, nothing we build outside of the True foundation and cornerstone of Jesus Christ will last, and if Jesus and The Gospel is the message of life and love itself, then nothing we build outside the motive of love will last. "There is not greater love than this, that He would lay His life down for his friends." The message of the Gospel is the message of love. At the same time, if we declare our love for Jesus without the multiplication of the fruit of love and its message, we are missing it.
Jesus summed all of the laws and commands in these simple statements. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
The latter is impossible without the former. However, declaring the first statement to be true in our lives without the manifestation of love towards others is offensive to the message of love and the Gospel itself.
We have not been saved just to be saved. We have been saved so we can be vessels, pruned and emptied out of ourselves, to pour out the greatest message of love there is, both by speaking and sharing the message of the Gospel and daily living a life of love, bringing forth the purity of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
More importantly, when met Biblically, God's love is both eternal and exemplified in real, everyday life. We have to be a living and not merely "speaking," witness of God's love.
And herein lies the challenge for all of us - the administration of God's Biblically mandated, Biblically founded, perfectly laid out characteristic of love. The truth is, when we understand this principle, it unlocks the key to operating in God's wisdom. Why? Because if God Himself is love, then everything He does is motivated out of love. Simply put, if it's not love, it's not God. Operating outside of love itself defies His character and His very being. We are to be like Christ and carry His character. Our lives should reflect the character of love.
Now what? Here's our litmus test. Be honest, accept God's conviction or affirmation, repent if need be, and keep going.
Be bold enough to test NOT your understanding but your OBEDIENCE to the mandate of love.
Rate yourself honestly and accordingly, and don't justify. Open yourself to the Holy Spirit who has been given to us to convict us of our sins and produce righteousness.
How to assess ourselves.
Big Picture: There are 14 major characteristics of love outlined. Without rationalizing, go through them and do a simple yes or no. Either you bear it, or you don't. For every yes, count it as 1 point. For every no, a zero. Then ask yourself, 1 - 14, where do you stand? How close or far are you to reflecting God's definition of love?
Dig Deeper – within every definition and character of love, rate yourself 1-10. Strengthen the things you are good at. For the ones that you need to work on, simply repent, ask for God's grace and do better.
If you are ready, work on it. Download the Litmus Test and challenge yourself to grow in God's love today.
Have fun and learn to love well,
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