The Nature of Love – Righteousness
Love, by its nature, desires the purest and highest for all who embrace its wonder. The very core of all God is, seeks, inspires, and impels His creation to live and abide in righteousness. The internal flame inherent in His Love cleanses us from the self-seeking, self-promotion, and jealousy that is the womb of bitterness and strife.
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts,
do not boast and be false to the truth.”
James 3:14 (ESV)
The Love of God dries up the wellspring of the carnal man. It sets in motion the deep workings of God to free us from the spirit of Cain, who slew his own brother whose works were more righteous.
“not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
1 John 3:12 (NKJV)
The spirit of Cain is prevalent wherever God’s people gather. Jude’s fiery epistle reveals this relevant truth to warn the people of God of such things and to cause us to guard our hearts against its deadly malaise.
“Woe to them! For they went the way of Cain…
These are sunken rocks in your love feasts…
Jude 1:11-12
Love’s endearing work is ever to draw us to the purity of heart, simplicity of desire, and relationships whose foundation shows the nature of God Himself. If we permit the wooing of His Love within, He will make us capable of a Love that fuses His people together in that unity for which Jesus prayed.
“That they all may be one;
as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee,
that they also may be one in Us…”
John 17:21
Too often, we speak of this unity as if we will automatically be participants in it while denying Love’s press within to forsake the jealousy and envy in our hearts. Such things will never be. Only as we sink into the depths of His Love and allow its nature to destroy the lust and evil desires within will we touch the power of this unity in a corresponding measure.
Unity is the revelation
of His Love reigning within.
Love is the only power that can hold a life to the workings of the Cross. Without the cross, His life remains a mystery, its power veiled, and the ministrations of Christ limited.
Love is the only hope we have of displaying His righteousness. His Love will not allow a life to linger in unforgiveness; it will not tolerate our treatment of others to fall short of His Nature. While we may glory in some declared righteousness, John’s epistle quickly brings us to the truth and substance of righteousness.
“Little children, let no man deceive you:
he that doeth righteousness is righteous…”
1 John 3:7
Let no man deceive you, and let us not deceive ourselves. Love searches out the deep recesses of our being to free us fully into a life that spontaneously expresses Him in all our interactions with others. The great fallacy of the modern gospel is it often alleviates one from the “doing” and brings the hypocrisy of dead religious belief.
“So speak ye, and so do…”
James 2:12
The Nature of Love inspires those in whom it dwells “unto love and good works” that we may glorify our Father in Heaven who first loved us!
“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16
Related Post: That We May Grow – Part Two
The Nature of Love Series:
The Nature of Love (Link)
The Nature of Love – Salvation (Link)
“The One who calls you to a life of righteousness
is the One who, by our consent
lives that life of righteousness through you!”
Major Ian Thomas
Brian Troxel
Have you ever read Tozer’s old cross new cross?
I have read some of his quotes that speak of the contrast between the “new” cross and the “old rugged cross”. The modern gospel knows little of the old being blinded by the falsity of the new. The day of sifting is upon us.
“…set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof”
The time of sealing is upon us. The “mark” spoken of here is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it is a cross.
Few understand the subtlety of the day.
BT
Hello brother Brian,
Fellowship and unity of heart is the bond of brotherhood, and it’s one that is shared by fellow believers that even carnal siblings do not share.
There might be jealousy in carnal siblings because of the similarities that they share with others in the family that they don’t share themselves, so they tend to be divided.
In my own family, we have differing interests, so there’s a lack of fellowship, because we have different perspectives.
I have siblings who serve the Lord, and siblings who don’t. It creates a lack of brotherhood between us.
The problem is when this is true of the church of God, especially when there is a lack of love and righteousness.
This is a much needed message, brother. God bless you.
Thank you again for the comments. There are few who “feel” the need for this deeper relationship that alone can answer the cry of His prayer.
May He use us to usher in the great longing of His heart!
Blessings
BT
Amen, brother. blessings.
Love rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love is ever ready to believe the best about a person.
At age 19, I came to saving faith in Christ. In my 20s and 30s, I was a prodigal son, wickedly, wastefully, and eventually emotionally wretched, as willfully wed to the idolatry of worldly women and sport horses. At age 39 or 40, I came running back through the valleys and the dark of night into the living, loving, liberating light of our Abba Father and His Christ, our Kinsman Redeemer, our wondrous Wisdom, our relentless Righteousness, our sure Sanctification.
In recent years, the Spirit Who, especially in our graced cooperation with His merciful operation, progressively pours forth from heaven the hallowing longing of and manifest living the love of God into and out from our hearts, has been showing me an exquisite emphasis on the tender strength and strong tenderness of God’s love.
Acutely, I recognize and experientially realize that the exceedingly excellent tenderness is His strong agape, unconditional love, and the superscendent, sustaining strength of this tender love is His remorseless righteousness, happy holiness, and jubilant justice. When sitting and still at Jesus’ feet, gazing on His sheer beauty, silence lit on ferventing fire, simply glad and gloriously grateful for vital union and intimate, abiding communion with Him, this dimension of divinity is encountered evermore enlightening, endearing, and enriching.
All that we spiritually, carnally, cognitively, and emotionally experience, in all actuality, our entire existence, both conscious and unconscious, I wholeheartedly believe we are to wakefully, soberly subject to this transcendent, triumphant truth of God’s transforming, tenderly strong, and strongly tender love. To God Who Is Love Omnipotent, Omnibenevolent be the acclamation, the adulation, and the loyal love, now and for ages without end.
81 Bible Verses about Love – Inspiring Quotes to Live By
Love. https://www.biblelyfe.com/blog/bible-verses-about-love
“It’s the strongest emotion we experience. It impacts every aspect of our lives – from how we feel about God to how we interact with those around us. In our culture love can be sentimental and fleeting, but what does the Bible say about love? What does it mean to love God, and how do we show God’s love to others? Here are 81 Bible verses about love that provide insight into the character of God’s love for us, the meaning of love, and guidance on how to love one another.”
I am grateful to glean part of your story in Him, it is always refreshing to hear the story of each life won over by His faithfulness and pursuit. I was from a broken home and floundered living on the streets, and different families taking me in which is a bit of a blur now but at the age of 20 years old HE came into my room at 2:00AM and I was instantly and forever changed. I was an alcoholic, drug addict, and a very very lost young man, this was in 1974.
There was a revival of God moving powerfully in the small town in Alberta and I was a part of it. God’s movings were amazing and yet the people involved chose to have a pastor and I could not reconcile that with God’s sweet Spirit and that began my lonely journey which has never really found a home for long. That is true even now, so I must tell you how warmed I am from your comments and feel like I have found a kindred pilgrim.
Thank you!
BT
Between posting my comment and reading your response, I asked myself why I wrote about my personal conversion, as it seemed off-topic, to which I am perhaps quite prone. So glad I am that my remarks are to you more than a little meaningful and not untimely.
As long as I can remember, I have been a loner, preferring my company to others. I do not think such has been because of any personal sense of inferiority, superiority, or perception of any abuse. At age 40, I married and fifteen years later was divorced. Being a loner is probably not conducive to sustaining and strengthening married life. Undoubtedly, other factors figured in, such as her frequent and extreme mood swings, which I think were due to a chemical imbalance.
About being “unchurched,” approximately twenty years have passed since I last attended. As a regular attendee previously, I never had any issues with anyone and enjoyed the corporate worship. Part of the reason is that I choose not to own a motor vehicle at this stage in my life, and with the money not spent there, allot it elsewhere as the Holy Spirit directs. That or any other reason I do not offer or use as an excuse to forsake the assembling together of myself with others in the context of Hebrews 10:25, though we could surely say I am still a work in progress. Most definitely, I do not count myself to have apprehended all that for which Christ has apprehended me.
Yes, you and I are kindred pilgrims. Thanks much from day one for being so warm and welcoming. I praise and thank the One Beautiful God for your Christlikeness.
This is the tender strength and the strong tenderness of our ardent, affectionate Abba Almighty that causes me to weep and gratefully come undone from my at times still selfish, sinful self:
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-32 AMP
11 Then He said, “A certain man had two sons. 12 The younger of them [inappropriately] said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ So he divided the estate between them. 13 A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living. 14 Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need. 15 So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to [a]feed pigs. 16 He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him. 17 But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.”’ 20 So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe [for the guest of honor] and put it on him; and give him a [b]ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let us [invite everyone and] feast and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field; and when he returned and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he summoned one of the servants and began asking what this [celebration] meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But the elder brother became angry and deeply resentful and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29 But he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30 but when this [other] son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered that fattened calf for him!’ 31 The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.’”
Footnotes
a. Luke 15:15 This would have seemed especially disgusting to Jesus’ Jewish listeners because pigs were ceremonially unclean animals, forbidden to them as food.
b. Luke 15:22 I.e. a symbol of his authority as a son.
Yes what a graphic picture of our Father in heaven… who at times watched us from afar – waiting and anticipating us “to come to our senses” and run back to Him by Whom and of Whom we are supplied with strength, power and provision!
Blessing dear brother!
BT
NICE 💓💖💚
Blessed and Happy Sunday 🌞
Greetings from 🇪🇸
Thank you for stopping by. 🙂