The definition of God’s love (Part 4)
Verse of the day: 1 Corinthians 13:3: “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing”
There was a time when the verse of the day scared me and for a long time I had difficulty understanding how someone can distribute all his goods to feed the poor or give his body to be burned to save his neighbor without love!
The only explanation for such case is that God is more interested by the motivation than the act. It is not what we do that impress God, but rather how we do it. Notice that the verse of the day is talking about someone who distributes all his goods i.e. he remains with empty hands and gives everything he has to the poor. To the world’s eyes, such person deserves a lot of admiration but the verse of the day says that it is useless if there is no love in it!
Regarding the money we give to God, we must understand that He is not interested in what we give but how we give. The amount impresses men but God is interested by the quality. If you regularly give an offering at church, remember that God tests your heart to see with which motivation you do it. You can do it to be in harmony with your Pastor or to sustain your job or simply to enforce the law of God in order to avoid any kind of curse, but the perfect will of God is that you do it for love . The offerings must be given by love and not by interest or speculation.
It is easy to obey someone you love and whom you trust. Very often before healing the sick, the Bible says that Jesus manifested a sense of compassion when he saw the sick and the disabled. Every child of God is supposed to have compassion for the poor, orphans and widows. If you do not feel anything for this kind of people, I advise you to pray that God puts some compassion in your heart for without compassion Jesus cannot remain in your heart.
Jesus is identified by love and we cannot claim to be his disciples without love. A good Christian is not justified by the "speaking in tongues" but by the neighbor’s love. You cannot look like your Father (God) if you hate your brother or sister.
To be followed in the fifth part
Chris Ndikumana
