In my previous articles, I have written about what I believe is ultimately the key to all healing, the key to becoming all God created us to be. Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and others with your whole being, with your heart, soul, mind, and strength. My premise was and is that a large part of the Battle is to leave the false intimacy of sexual acting out and pursue the true intimacy of loving God and others with our whole being. In the pursuit of True Intimacy, there are many tools God has given us which are useful in this Battle. Most of the “tools” found in Scripture are tools which can help us in all facets of our life, with many different struggles in our life.
In the New Testament, there are found a series of “Each Other” messages which, when practiced move us in the direction of intimacy. These “Each Other” messages can help us build True Intimacy, with God and others. Remember, 1 John says that we cannot love God without also loving others. Naturally, it is also true, that when we love others we are also loving God. The “love” we are ultimately talking about is that Agape (Greek) love, unconditional love, which includes our whole being. In this series of four articles we will look briefly at many of these “Each Other” messages. I believe if we put these into practice it will help build toward Truly Intimate relationships. They will enhance our relationship with God and others. In so doing, we will find more victory in the Battle.
In this series of 4 articles we will identify and look at several of the “Each Other” passages with the goal of moving away from false intimacy and moving towards true intimacy with God and each other.
LOVE EACH OTHER
The very first “Each Other” statement covers them all. “Love Each Other” or in some translations, “Love One Another” is found 17 times in the New Testament. Jesus stressed love in many ways throughout his teachings and, of course, even more so in His actions. Peter, John and Paul reinforced this message in their letters to the church. Loving others will be a powerful tool, maybe THE powerful tool, towards fighting this Battle by building True Intimacy. Love is many faceted. Love is huge. Love is a noun. Love is a verb. Love is an adverb. Love is a feeling. Love is an action. Love is God. Love can’t be exhausted. If God truly is Love then it has the attributes of God. That’s big, Love is huge.
What would our lives look like if they were all about love? How much more would we win the Battle? If we could live a life characterized by love, we could remain in Victory always even in the smallest of Battles. So loving others and loving God needs to be our goal. The goal of having our life characterized by love. A pretty big undertaking for the biggest of attributes and if it wasn’t for God in our lives it would be impossible. God, however, does desire to be in our lives and he has given us a whole list of actions and attitudes that together will characterize our life in love. WWJD? Easy answer- “love”. It is pretty silly (maybe futile is a better word) to try and figure out what Jesus would do in every specific situation. Especially in this culture, in this post industrialized nation, in this information society which is so different from that of the New Testament times.
We DO know, that in whatever “He would do”, it would be done in love. Maybe the bracelet we should wear is not WWJD? but HWJL?. “How would Jesus love?” is probably the question we should be asking. Because loving each other is what we should be about. I ask again; In your days of acting out, what would have been different if loving each other had been on your mind? What choices would be different if you had been in the habit of thinking “How Would Jesus Love?” How would your relationships be different if right now, this very day you set out to love unconditionally the people God has put in your life? God has put your wife, your children, your mother, your father, your siblings, your work peers, your church friends and many more in your life. How would today be different if you set out to love them? Imagine how much victory you would have in your battle if loving others were the main goal of your day! LOVE will bring us victory in our battle…guaranteed! The “Each Other” passages are actions and attitudes of love–and actions of love build true intimacy. When True intimacy destroys false intimacy the Battle is WON!!!
by David S. Mackey