Scripture: 1 John 3 v 16 - 18: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
In this passage of scripture we are being shown what it means to love as Jesus did, and to lay down our lives for those who follow Him. It does not mean you have to literally die to help someone, but to put aside some cherished situation to bless someone else.
John rebukes those who have the means to meet the needs of those brethren, Christians, who are struggling financially, but have zero compassion upon them. The day may arise when the shoe is on the other foot, and the Lord Himself blocks an answer to a desperate prayer because you blocked a blessing to someone in need.
John goes on to say that its easy to speak of love and generosity but difficult to follow through. He urges us to walk in love and meet the needs of others wherever possible. You can never outgive the Lord. He will find many ways to repay your kindness, and prevent needless waste.
In Acts all the believers had everything in common. Everyone brought everything they possessed to the apostles and it was shared out so that everyone had sufficient. They shared land, houses, money, clothing, furniture, food, books, animals, beds, blankets, tents etc. There was one couple who sold their house and pledged the proceeds to the apostles.
They decided together to withhold a portion for themselves. Peter was shown by the Holy Spirit that this couple had lied about their contribution. Peter spoke to the husband first and asked why he had lied to the Holy Spirit. He fell down dead at Peter's feet. The same thing happened to his wife. She lied too and fell down dead. God is not mocked and His judgment is swift.
There is much false love in the churches today and when God's judgment begins in the church there is going to be much sorrow and heartbreak. I am not writing idle words to you, but just expanding on the true unadulterated Word so that you will have opportunity to realign yourself with the proper love of Jesus.
You need to find out what it means when you tell Jesus you love Him. It is clearly written in the Bible. We are one large family who must care for every other member. If you see that your brother's tyres on his motor car are worn to the canvas, then take the time to replace them for him so his family don't get hurt or worse in an accident.
You need to be observant and willing to meet other's needs. That's what love does. If someone's motor car is in for repairs, make sure that if they need provisions you can offer a ride to the mall. This is how to grow your Heavenly bank account. If your account is empty, no matter how many times the Lord multiplies your blessings, the result will still be zero.
There are those who already have an overflow of abundance and whose needs will always be met at the right time. They have learned the walk of love and truly flow in His love. If this is not yet your experience, you now know how to achieve it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we need to heed Your Word and be quick to put it into action as this is Your love within us flowing to all parts of the Body of Christ. Forgive us, Father, for every time we have turned our face away from a genuine need. Open our eyes to true needs, Lord, and also protect us from being manipulated by unscrupulous con artists. We want to be like Jesus and be obedient to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
