“Hearken, my beloved brethren…”
James 2:5
The Language of Love
James was not speaking to a particular place as Paul often did; his epistle was to a wider audience of the day. By the Spirit of God, we catch a glimpse of something that transcends knowledge. It is the language of relationship. It is more intense than a casual conversation between acquaintances. It communicates the profound bond among members of one family, where mutual care for one another transcends personal traits and idiosyncrasies.
The Love of God alone is the binding agent in HIS Body. It is a love that can only be known by a life-changing relationship with Him. It cannot be taught nor developed by carnal means.
“He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love.”
1 John 4:8
There is no greater affirmation, no other evidence of an individual’s relationship with God than this. In the absence of this Love, men and women are reduced to God’s estimation of such a life:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
In God’s eyes, there is nothing more hollow or deceptive than one who claims to be a Christian yet is devoid of this magnificent attribute.
Those who truly know Him must, by that spark of relationship, feel the draw and desire for fellowship with all who are born of Him.
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.”
1 John 5:1 (ESV)
If we do not allow His Word to pierce our hearts, we will go through life deceived, unaffected and untutored in the vast wonder of God’s call to each of us.
“Everyone who loves the Father
loves whoever has been born of Him.”
The above scripture is emphatic. The only valid expression of the verity of my love for the Father is revealed in the divine wonder of His Love flowing through me to others who have also been born of Him. This Love does not allow isolation, slander, or disassociation from another who is His genuine child, apart from grievous sin.
The true testimony of God to the world is demonstrated by the love we hold for one another.
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
IF ye have love one to another.”
John 13:35
Related Post: One Bread – One Body
The Language of Love
The Love of God sparks movement and involvement in the lives of His children. Love grows in its own ministration.
“Activity in the kingdom of God augments the power of spiritual life,
and deepens the consciousness of religious realities.”
William Adams.
“from Whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Ephesians 4:16 (ESV)
Brian Troxel
