...I will Seek the Beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4)
Life is about being in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:4-6)
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To Experience and Express God's Love: To Understand and Impart His LOVE (Jn 15:9)
'Putting on Christ' (Galatians 3:27) is taking on a new life and purpose through being spiritually united to Christ. Through this unification we receive understanding of His love and beauty; which empowers us not only to love Him but to see and feel what He sees and feels for His people. This First Commandment sets the tone for the first four commandments, which can be summarized as, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Which Jesus Christ later called this summation the great commandment (Matthew 22: 37-38). It is in knowing the great commandment that we are able to understand: God's emotions (love, affection, delight, and enjoyment); God's beauty (Isaiah 33:17); Our beauty in God's eyes (Isaiah 61, Psalm 90:17). And Through this understanding we eagerly seek partnership with God (John 17:24, Revelation 20:4-6). Love longs for partnership that works with one another. Paul wrote of it as a love that compels us to give our all (1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:13; 2 Cor. 5:14). When we see and feel about ourselves and others what God sees and feels about us, we are empowered to love. Width: His love includes all nations. Length: it reaches far (covering all sin) and lasts forever. Depth: it was costly for Jesus to descend so low. Height: it exalts us. (Ephesians 3:17-19) This is possible because the Spirit enables us to comprehend and know that God sees our value, destiny, and beauty and feels delight over us and others. Thus we are empowered to love deeper and more consistently as we see ourselves and others as God does. |