An act of love is an Act of God

Testimony Time:-Good afternoon to all members in the race to the Kingdom of God. I give glory to God for keeping us until this day so that we are able to witness another occasion to celebrate the glory of God in our midst. Today, I want us to consider the word love and unity and also see if we can map out some strategies which we can deploy so that we can add value to Christianity as we examine Love and Unity. It is not uncommon to have lots of ambiguities surrounding the word Love. And where there is love, it will be very easy to experience unity because for two people to work and walk together, there must be a unifying theme that connects them together. (Amos 3:3) Love can then be described as a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection e.g. ("I love my mother") to pleasure ("I loved that meal"). It can also refer to an emotion of a strong attraction and personal attachment. It can come in the form of a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another". It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one's self or animals. Apart from the delicate nature associated with the gift of love, God still expects us to fulfil His command through its operation and there is nothing as peaceful as when we offer the gift of love. It is an act that rests solely on the sacrifice of love or offering love as a gift in the face of any terrible situations. Martin Luther King Jr, says “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” That is why all Christian needs to come together through many more forum like this to fellowship with praise, also to reason together as a body of Christ and bring our prayers unto the Lord and by so doing, we will eliminate all tendencies of rancor, strife, acrimony, distrust and hatred within the Christian communities. Psalm 55:10-12 states “10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. 12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.” Therefore, for us to add value to the Christendom as Christians there must be unity among us and that is when we can bring about His fullness which will link us with the inheritance of heaven. Also, when we consider the Act of Giving which comes under love, we are expressing and expanding God's miracles on earth, thereby causing people to come before Him with testimonies. Therefore the two hands we are given by God represent one for our immediate needs and the other to lend support in bringing people unto Him through the act of love. When we look at the world today, the missing link is love. We often fail to give adequately or repay with evil the pleasures we derive therefrom. But know therefore that those who cart away the love of God for selfish reasons often surfer some sort of demise at a point in time. In the Church today, we all have the gifts of God residing in us which centers on love, let us make use of it. I encourage us to Love using all its perimeters and let us begin to experience peace that fires using on all cylinders. There should be no limits set upon love which must attract the spirit of humbleness from all parties. As Christians, we will be fulfilling one of the fundamental principles of why God created us in the first place. Undoubtedly, there will be occasions when we feel unloved. Instead of acting in a retaliatory manner, let us remember the story of Leah so that we can continue to add value to Christianity. Genesis 29:17 describes Leah as having a lazy eyes, this was because Jacob did not find her very attractive because his original intention was to get married to Rachel. Laban made a switch because of the tradition that forbade a younger sister getting married before the eldest one. On the day of the wedding, Jacob did not cherish what he had by virtue of his marriage. His concentration was on Rachel and Jacob had to serve another seven years to fulfill his desires. Although Leah was despised, she had six sons through Jacob namely- Reuben Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebuluu (Genesis 35:23). I want you to know that God has a way of helping the unloved because Leah who was despised by Jacob had a powerful lineage to Christ coming, from out of the tribe of Judah. Sarah also despised Hagar; she treated her with hardship when she noticed the impudence of Ishmael upon Isaac. Sending them away from the tent, but God was with them throughout their ordeal. “God can see us in every place. “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He pondered his entire goings." Proverbs 5:21. His eye is as much upon us in a desert as when we are sitting by our own fireside. Also, when we are brought into trouble by our own folly and sin, we may still pray to God. Wherever we are, as we cry out to the Lord, His ear will listen to our prayers, and His hand is ready to afford His gracious help. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Psalm 50:15. God is displeased with those children who vex and mock their brothers and sisters. If there be an ill behaved child in a family, he makes others unhappy besides himself. We should all try to live together in love and peace; and elder children should set a good example for the younger. The way for a family to be happy is to love God, obey His Word and be kind one to another. The servant of the Lord should not strive nor speak evil of others, but whether young or old we should be kind to and love one another. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32 Act of love does not have to be for monetary gains alone. You can look at it from the position of offering peace instead of wars and love where it is evidenced that you have been unloved. When you give, you bring people to His Presence without knowing. When you take advantage of giving, you are a caricature of Satan on earth. And this does not rest squarely on monetary gains, it extends to favors and services rendered as well. What have you lost for the sake of giving? Know for sure that all hope is not lost if you give righteously, God will always repay you, only you must not rescind from your position of doing what is right before Him always. Give and show love always so that you too can be given love in return. There is no other way to experience peace in our lives, in return the blessings of heaven will erupt upon us and by so doing we can all continue to add value to the Christendom. Just checking in into His Presence...