Love, Family and Music with Rodney JerkinsShembull

Love

Hatred stirs up contentions, but love covers all transgressions.  Proverbs 10:12

Hatred is an extreme dislike toward someone or something. The word contention means a heated disagreement, which I’m sure is sparked from a lot of anger. 

Our world emphasizes race issues towards one another, but it’s actually just the spirit of hate that stirs up those negative conversations.  Love, however, overcomes that spirit of hatred. We need to pull from the Scriptures in 1 John 3:16, wherein Jesus laid down his own life for us, and we ought to lay our lives down for those who are our brothers in him. 

What Jesus did for us is the ultimate representation of love: the essential love. God encourages us to love one another, keep no records of wrongs, and forgive others, not harbor bitterness or anger in our hearts. When you show love to one another, you are essentially showing that you are born of God and you know God. 

I think love is both an offense and a defense: offense because we should constantly show it by our actions of joy, smiling, speaking in kindness, helping one another; Defense because when the enemy throws negativity our way, we shouldn’t react with anger, hatred, etc., but we should react in love, kindness and courtesy. Love conquers all.

In 1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 8 we are taught that: 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. Love never fails.