Open Heaven 19 May 2023: True Love

Open Heaven 19 May 2023

MEMORISE: 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? 1 John 4:20

BIBLE READING: JAMES 2:15-16

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Read Other Open Heaven Devotional here

Love is foundational to the Christian faith. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, His answer was: Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself. He then went further to say, on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

True love is in the DNA of every genuine child of God. Anyone who claims to be a Christian and does not have love as one of his or her characteristics is nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-2).

If there is true love, then it implies that there is false love. True love is empathetic in nature. True love does not do good for people to see, it does good because it feels the pain of the one who is loved. In our Bible reading for today, James says if you truly love someone, you would do everything within your power to solve their problems.

Unfortunately, these days, when many Christians see another who they can help, they would rather pray to God to help the fellow than help him or her themselves. That is fake love. True love is when you make sacrifices to help your brother or sister and do all you can to ensure their problems are solved.

Some years ago, after a major programme, I was so tired that I just wanted to get on my bed and sleep, but as I was leaving the venue in my car, I heard the voice of a man shouting, “Daddy help me, Daddy help me”. I wanted to stop my driver immediately, but I knew that if we stopped there, the crowd would rush to the car. I therefore asked my driver to allow me come out of the car at a place where I could wait, then go back to get the man.

When the man arrived, he told me he had no job and his wife, who had been fending for the family before, had also just lost her job. They had a set of twins and all four of them had not eaten for three days. The first thing I did was to ask someone to bring food for them before we could continue the conversation. By the end of that day, both husband and wife had jobs.

Love is demonstrated through our actions. Brethren, do you truly love others as you love yourself? Without true love for your neighbour, you cannot make it to heaven (Matthew 25:35-46).

REFLECTION: Do you truly show love to the people around you?