Today, I again heard something that I had liked:
Love, and do as you please. - Augustine
Latin: "dilige et quod vis fac." This quote is often presented: "Love God, and do as you please." However, there is no implied object of the love in the sentence; it could be "God", could be “one another”, could be “your neighbor” and could be "kitty cats". Because there is no implied object, the actual object would be more "everything and everyone".
The full quote: Once for all, then, a short precept is given thee: Love, and do what thou wilt: whether thou hold thy peace, through love hold thy peace; whether thou cry out, through love cry out; whether thou correct, through love correct; whether thou spare, through love do thou spare: let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good. -Augustine’s Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John VII.8But somehow, as I recognized before, it just didn't seem complete to me, just didn't seem quite right.
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I figured it out today; I figured out what was bothering me. What I would say is this:
Do as you please, period. But what pleases you is to Love.
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Do as you please: Love.
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Do as you please by Loving.
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I say this because it is how I view God:
God does as He pleases, period. But what pleases God is to Love.
...God does as He pleases by Loving.
...Christians all over the world want to love, the same way that God loves. To love the way God loves goes beyond merely doing things, it requires the same motivation that God has. Any other motivation is of man and not God.
...Unlike natural man, God has no motivation and requires no motivation. God is love. God loves outwardly because He is love inwardly; when God loves, He is doing exactly who and what He is, He is true to His own character and nature. Thank God, actually. I don't think any 'motivation' would result in 'God dying for ungodly sinners'. Motivation doesn't cut it; only perfect love, as character and nature, works.
...Unlike natural man, God has no motivation and requires no motivation. God is love. God loves outwardly because He is love inwardly; when God loves, He is doing exactly who and what He is, He is true to His own character and nature. Thank God, actually. I don't think any 'motivation' would result in 'God dying for ungodly sinners'. Motivation doesn't cut it; only perfect love, as character and nature, works.
...So, the only way that man can love the way that God loves is to have the same character and nature as God. At this point, it seems hopeless for man, that we should give up the whole idea.
...Remember now what God says about us - that we were reborn and made into a 'New Creation' and brought into union with Him. I believe that this means that we have God's very own character and nature deep inside of us; it may not be getting out, but it is there deep inside the believer. And, if His character and nature is Love, then we are Love as well. So, like God, we Love outwardly because we are Love inwardly.
...Remember now what God says about us - that we were reborn and made into a 'New Creation' and brought into union with Him. I believe that this means that we have God's very own character and nature deep inside of us; it may not be getting out, but it is there deep inside the believer. And, if His character and nature is Love, then we are Love as well. So, like God, we Love outwardly because we are Love inwardly.
Takeaway
In making us New Creations is making us reborn of Him, God made us Love.
Application
It is suitable for us to release the Love that God made us to be.
thank you so much for this blog and also what you commented on Steve McVeys GraceWalk blog: about reading the first chapter of all the NT letters that Paul wrote. I am a little afraid to read the NT because i also have been in bondage and saw only law and things we must do in order to be loved of God. Especially all of the conditions like 'if you do this...then I will do that' But now i look forward in reading the first chapter of each letter Paul wrote without seeing any laws or conditions. I desire to know all the blessings Jesus has bestowed on me as a believer. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteyou are most welcome, grace. great name, by the way.
ReplyDeletefor others who may read this, steve mcvey is an effective teacher of the new covenant; i recommend his books. on his blog, i had suggested reading the first half of all the letter of paul...i find these to be most effective in helping us to understand our new life in Christ.
this is not to say that we should not read the 2nd half; we can if we want and they are totally helpful, eventually. but, if you are like i was and sometimes still am, i fear that you may misunderstand those words and put yourself under the yoke of bondage... for this reason, i recommend the 1st half of Paul's epistles.