“Darling, I love what you’ve done with this room.” “Girl Friend, I love your new hair style. It makes you look ten years younger.” “Whow, I really love the new Blue Bell banana-nut ice cream.” It is absolutely amazing how today’s society has devalued the word “love.” In this world’s system love has been attached to so many frivolous things that it’s full impact is not easily recognized.
Dear Ones, here at Friendship we are getting the “love” message. “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; FOR GOD IS LOVE” (capitalization for emphasis).
The way of the Kingdom is the way of love. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (1 John 4:7, 8; 10, 11)
The “love” message is simply this: We are loved! We are loved by our heavenly Father with an immeasurable, unconditional love. He loved us while we were estranged from Him and He loves us now that we are reconciled to Him. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” (1 John 3:14 [a])
I praise God for the “brotherly love” that is exemplified here at Friendship. Am I saying we all are perfect and that we are doing it right all of the time? No, not at all. What I am saying is this: God dwells in us and His love is perfected in us. We are being fully developed and we are growing into the maturity of godliness.
Dear Ones, let brotherly love continue. You are loved!
Pastor J. Amos Jones
