Righfully Nurtured!

People fall in love and they fall out of love. This is true of relationships between people and also with other objects of their affection. People can be so fickle; head over heals over one thing one moment and then another the next. What one truly loves is what they tend to hold on to no matter what! Besides having love properly directed, to maintain an adequate level of love or continue to grow in love we need to recognize that love is to be nurtured.

Both our Lord and Paul provided a clear warning regarding a misdirected love. ( Luke 12:15-21; 1 Timothy 6:10) The possessions or money they alluded to were not the problem in and of themselves, but the love attached to them is what created the life challenge. Perhaps we know people who seem to treat their possessions better than they treat people; even those within their own family. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he mentioned a time coming that would be marked by a whole list of challenges due to misdirected affections. ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5) Those very things are definitely prevalent in the world today.

Are we nurturing love TOWARD THE PROPER END? Even love for the right things must still be nurtured. If it is not, that love can far too easily grow cold and die.

The church at Ephesus received the following warning.
“(4) But I have this against you, that YOU HAVE ABANDONED THE LOVE YOU HAD AT FIRST. (5) Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.” ( Revelation 2:4-5 ESV)

During our Lord’s earthly ministry He also gave the following exhortation…

“(12) And because lawlessness will be increased, THE LOVE OF MANY WILL GROW COLD. (13) But the one who ENDURES TO THE END will be saved.” ( Matthew 24:12-13 ESV)

Noting the whole context of Jesus’ statement, it appears the diminishing love would not only be for the Lord and the Truth, but for others as well. Such love must be continually nurtured so that it does not grow cold. Maintaining a love that is properly directed toward what the Lord loves can empower us to ENDURE TO THE END through whatever trials may come so that IN THE END we will receive the salvation our Lord came to provide. May a genuine love be properly focused and nurtured TOWARD THAT END!

Have a great day NURTURING AN ABIDING LOVE FOR GOD’S LOVES!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Love