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LOVE REMOVES OBSTACLES

The fundamental object of Christianity is submission to the Lordship of our Lord and Savior. Unfortunately, whenever we disregard God’s commandments, we choose to substitute our own will for the will of God; when we do this, we practice lawlessness and, therefore, sin. “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:12, 13). Certainly, some sins are obvious to anyone, but the subtle attitudes of pride and self-centeredness are the root of all sins. In Scripture, God warns us many times against the attitudes of lawlessness. To stay alert to the deception of these attitudes is two-fold:

• We must love truth more than anyone or anything else.
• We must passionately desire His will more than our comfort or lives.

Understand that the word “love” in this verse is agape, a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. Moreover, it is not a feeling but a motivation for action that we are free to choose or reject. Therefore, we demonstrate sacrificial love by choosing to love truth more than ourselves and desire His will above our own, “…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:1, 2).

Point of Action:

To protect our hearts from pride and self-centeredness, we must continue in “agape love.”

By: Dr. Fred Adams