DCLM Daily Manna 16 April 2024 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Test Of Christian Love
TOPIC: Test Of Christian Love (DCLM Daily Manna 16 April 2024)
KEY VERSE: “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” (1 John 3:16).
TEXT: 1 John 3:13-24 (KJV)
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 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.
17 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?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
MESSAGE:
During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancée had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, “Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!” This is an example of what love can do.
The passage before us reveals love for one another as one of the strongest proofs of being saved. It outlines Christian love as being extensive, expensive and expressive. Genuine brotherly love knows no boundary and sets no limit. Brotherly love is also costly. The example of Christ says it all. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Genuine love will cost us talents, treasure and time to be spent for others. Love is also expressed by sincerely helping persons in need; that is, by sharing our earthly possessions (food, clothing, money, etc.) with them. Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving.
Christian love is different from the way the world loves. Naturally, people may display genuine love and concern for their fellow humans, but most of the time, such gestures are factually wrapped up in self. The world puts self first before others. This genuine Christian love, devoid of self, begins with an encounter with Christ.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Real love is an action, not a feeling.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Psalms 89-91
Deeper Life Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
