Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s examine the love muscle.

Today’s scripture, Colossians 3:12‭-‬14 (NLT), exhorts…
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Consider…
In the 1970s a singing duo named Captain & Tennille sang…

[Verse 1]
Love
Love will keep us together
Think of me, babe whenever
Some sweet talking girl comes along
Singing his song
Don’t mess around
You just got to be strong

[Chorus]
Just stop
Cause I really love you
Stop, I’ll be thinking of you
Look in my heart
And let love keep us together
Whatever
Whatever, I will, I will, I will, I will

You may be wondering what does a corny pop-rock song have to do with a spiritual muscle? Moreover, what makes me call love a spiritual muscle?

Well, look at the phrasing the Apostle Paul used regarding love in today’s scripture. He said…
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Love is God’s binding muscle that holds everything together. That’s why I thought of the song, ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’. Yet it occurs to me, that the lyrics could use some sanctification for God…

[Verse 1]
Love
Love will keep us together
Think of the Christ whenever
Some selfish thought comes along
Singing it’s song
Don’t mess around
You just got to be strong

[Chorus]
Just stop
Cause God says to love them
Stop, He’s means really love them
Look in God’s heart
And let love keep us together
Whatever
Whatever, I will, I will, I will, I will

Romans 12:9‭-‬10 (NLT) inspired this sanctified rewrite. It says…
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Notice Paul emphasizes…

• Really love them
• Love each other with genuine affection
• and take delight in honoring each other.

Oh what a different world it would be if Christ’s followers lived a love emphasis life. If we could separate hating the wrong that people do, while still loving who they are. That’s what God did. Ephesians 2:3‭-‬5 (NLT) explains…
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

And Romans 5:8 (NLT) reiterates…
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Thus God emphasizes 1 John 4:9‭-‬11 (NLT)…
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

God loved us while we were still in our sin. Therefore there’s no excuse not to unconditionally and sacrificially love others no matter what they do.

It occurs to me that God’s love must be our most distinguishing characteristic. 1 John 4:16 (NLT)…
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

Note John says “all who live in love live in God, AND God lives in them”. Talk about love being a binding muscle, it binds us to God and Him to us. When we love others, we increase the visibility of His love bond to them.

God’s love for others isn’t dependent on how we love them, but it is more clearly seen when we do.

It also stands out in my mind that God evaluates our love for Him by our love for others. 1 John 4:20‭-‬21 (ERV) explains…
If we say we love God but hate any of our brothers or sisters in his family, we are liars. If we don’t love someone we have seen, how can we love God? We have never even seen him. God gave us this command: If we love God, we must also love each other as brothers and sisters.

My Lord, the fact that John has to admonish us to love fellow believers is shameful. Even more disheartening is the fact that his admonition is still relevant today.

I believe loving our brothers and sisters in Christ is just the beginning of God’s love requirement. I also believe He wants us to love one another to inspire others to want to be apart of His family. Think about it, who wants to be apart of a disfunctional family?

That’s why God measures our love for Him by how we love our brothers and sisters in Him. But don’t think it stops there, 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (ERV) explains…
We pray that the Lord will make your love grow. We pray that he will give you more and more love for each other and for all people. We pray that you will love everyone in the same way we love you.

I like this verse because Paul makes the importance of loving ALL PEOPLE/EVERYONE clear!

God wants us to love our siblings in His family AND everyone else. And the Holy Spirit wants us to be clear that with God, Love is not an either/or proposition, it’s all/and.

So today, just like the short, sweet and most powerful four letter word in the world, I close this post by encouraging you to exercise your love muscle vigorously and regularly! When you do, it will strengthen the bond between God, you and others for and to Him!

Today’s song is…
Love Like Jesus

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)