Accomplishing Love

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:11-21)

The Greek word that is translated as "perfect" in the King James is "teleioo" which, according to Strong's Concordance, is defined as follows:

1. To make perfect, complete
   
   1. To carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end
      
2. To complete (perfect)
   
   1. Add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full
      
   2. To be found perfect
      
3. To bring to the end (goal) proposed
   
4. To accomplish
   
   1. Bring to a close or fulfillment by event
      
      1. Of the prophecies of the scriptures
         

The Greek word for "brother" is "adelphos" and is defined as:

1. A brother, whether born of the same two parents of only of the same father or mother
   
2. Having the same national ancestor, belonging to the same people, or countryman
   
3. Any fellow or man
   
4. A fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection
   
5. An associate in employment or office
   
6. Brethren in Christ
   
   1. His brothers by blood
      
   2. All men
      
   3. Apostles
      
   4. Christians, as those who are exalted to the same heavenly place
      

It is easy for Christians to read 1 John and "feel good" about how much God loves them and how much they love God; and it is easy to sort of glide right over that part about loving or hating a brother without applying it to situations that exist in their own lives. But the scripture here is telling us that our love needs to be perfected or completed; it needs to accomplish that which it is meant to accomplish.

The scripture is telling us that we CANNOT hate our brother and say that we love God because our actions of hate (and unforgiveness?) are contrary to the love that God shows us and we are then revealed to be liars.
How is it that Christians manage to glide right over that without taking it into account in their own lives? We convince ourselves that we do not hate those people, we just hate their actions. We love them, we just have nothing whatsoever to do with them anymore. We avoid even mentioning their names.

It behooves each of us to squarely face that one person in our lives that is not receiving love from us and to accomplish our love towards them. It does not change what wrong they have done, whether to us or to others we care about. But what it does do is allow God to be their judge instead of us.

The problem is that we want justice NOW (better translated as vengeance). We are not willing to wait on God for justice LATER. He has not called us to judge our brother (or sister). He has called us to show His love to them by how WE love them. It is only the Lord who is perfect in His justice, it is not us, no matter what we think.

Look at God's love for a moment. Does He wait for us to come to Him before He pours His love out over us? Of course not! We hide out in the shame of our sin. We don't run to Him when we have sinned. Instead, He comes to us. He pours His love out on us, and we melt under that love and are repentant.

"WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US." Says that right up above in the scripture reference in 1 John.

Perhaps our brothers and sisters would repent as well, if we would but love them as He does us. Not because they deserve to be loved, but because we recognize that we ourselves don't deserve to be loved either…yet He loves us still.

But aside from what loving them does for them, what does it do for us?

"HE THAT DWELLETH IN LOVE, DWELLETH IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM." Says that up there too!

The reward for "completing" or "accomplishing" love towards others, especially those who are unloveable, is GOD IN US.

Do you have enough of God? I don't!

Make a choice today. Love those whom you have neglected to love this past year or for many years. Make a choice to have more of God in you, by loving them. Sometimes to love someone else, judgment falls on us because we are not going the way of the world. The world demands justice NOW. Then our choice is whether to please God or man.

It is the Season of God's Perfect Love. Let His love be seen in you, by those who are alone because of their sin. Show them what God has already shown you…Perfected Love.

It might just change their life!