TRUE LOVE FOR GOD MEANS WE WILL HAVE GENUINE LOVE FOR OTHERS

Lee Evans

1 John 5:3-4  3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).   4 For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.

Transcript

00:00I want you to be with me, I want you to be with me, I want you to be with me.

00:29A sharing or reflection that was entitled, The Greatest Unfathomable Mystery of the Nature of God's Love.

00:38And we learn that this love captures the profound truth that God, in his infinite majesty,

00:47desires intimate union with humanity through his son, Jesus Christ, and the church.

00:53This is love of God that is so complete and so sacrificial and transformative that it defies

01:03human comprehension. It is unfathomable because it reveals a God who not only creates, but

01:11condescends, suffers, sanctifies, in order to draw his bride into eternal communion with himself.

01:20This mystery that was hidden before the ages and revealed in Christ is not merely symbolic,

01:28but is actually living within the realm of our great God and Father, who is unknowable in his

01:35essence, but does relate to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, and is enacted through the sacraments

01:42and lived in the Church, making it the deepest expression of divine love and the cornerstone

01:50of salvation history. Dear listener and followers, how true this is and lines up with the greatest

01:58commandment of all that we read in Matthew chapter 22, beginning in verse 37, and declares,

02:06You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your

02:11mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment, and the second is like it. You shall love your

02:18neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This comes down to

02:28only the power of the Holy Spirit and the love that he pours in to the human heart that seeks him

02:37within everything that is within them, along with the struggle against the passions, which are called sins,

02:46and believe it or not, this struggle brings one closer to God and the mystery of his unfathomable

02:54love. I always like to see this in the struggle that the butterfly has in coming out of its darkened

03:02cocoon until it finally emerges in its most beautiful creature that has survived the struggle and goes about

03:12its existence as more than a marvel of nature, but rather it is a quiet but profound contribution

03:25to the world. This delicate creature plays a surprisingly powerful role in the betterment of

03:32mankind. It is a pollination powerhouse. As they flip from flower to flower, sipping the nectar,

03:40they transfer pollen, helping plants reproduce, and this supports the ecosystem and agriculture

03:48and ensuring the growth of fruits and vegetables and flowers that humans rely on for food and beauty.

03:58Now, in a parallel likeness with the butterfly, man is called to be a steward, to serve and reflect

04:07our creator's glory, not through control, but through love and wisdom and attentive care.

04:15And we are given the intellect and the Holy Spirit not to exalt ourselves, but to shine forth the life,

04:23truth, and the beauty of God in us to the world. Our importance lies not in ourselves,

04:30but in communion with God first and then with each other, and that is our neighbor, which is everyone

04:38around us and those we meet wherever we go. These are our neighbors. This is a profound point of

04:46understanding the direction of our path in learning to love others, since the love of God honors,

04:52directs, directs, warms, all other manifestations of this profound love of God within the human heart

05:00and soul. And this said brings us to our title for this reflection today, which is called True Love

05:09for God Means We Will Have Genuine Love for Others. And I would like to mention that this is a huge subject

05:19with many aspects that are impossible to outline with everything or every one of them. So I liken it to a

05:28thumbnail sketch. And I'd like to share where I glean some of my material for this reflection. And I love the book

05:37that is authored by Bishop Alexander Milliant called Orthodox Christianity, which is an excellent reference

05:45for about every subject in the Orthodox Church history. Also, I like to use the Orthodox Bible for

05:54reference for scripture commentaries and also the dictionary of biblical terms. But before I proceed,

06:03I would like to preface also, as I usually do, to say that I am not a spokesman for the Orthodox Church,

06:11but I am merely a member who was recently baptized and am learning every day as I study and pursue the

06:19one who loves us with an undying love spoken about in Romans chapter five, verse eight, which declares,

06:28but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us.

06:36You see, this verse highlights the unconditional nature of Christ's love, which is given freely,

06:45even when we were undeserving. And also in John chapter three, verse 16, which declares,

06:54for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in him

07:02shall not perish, shall not perish, but have eternal life. This verse is the cornerstone for Christian

07:10faith, showing the eternal scope of Christ's love. You see, in our spiritual journey, we must learn to

07:18love God so that this strong emotion for him will eventually fill and transform all of our whole being

07:26and enlighten our thoughts, warm our hearts, and all of our actions so that God becomes the most sought

07:35after and most important one in our lives, whom we truly and genuinely love. I believe one of my

07:44favorite scriptures of Apostle Paul is found in Ephesians chapter one, verse 16 through 21,

07:52and actually a similar prayer that Orthodox Christians pray before reading the gospel begins with says,

08:02illumine our hearts, O Master, who love mankind with the pure light of your divine knowledge.

08:10This full prayer of Ephesians chapter one, beginning in verse 16 states,

08:16I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, for I always prayed

08:24to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that he may grant you a spirit of wisdom and

08:31revelation of insight into the mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of him. Verse 18,

08:38by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which he has

08:45called you, and how rich is his glorious inheritance in the saints, his set apart ones. And so that you can know and

08:53understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of his power in and for us who believe,

09:01as demonstrated in the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from

09:09the dead and seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Verse 21,

09:16far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named above

09:23every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the

09:31world which are to come. How many of you know that it is not overnight that all of these actions occur or

09:40spring into being? This is a lifelong journey for us while we live on this earth. This love we have for

09:51those around us is important, but it is not as strong as the love that we should have for our great God and

10:00Creator. You see, love for God must be first and foremost in our lives. Scripture tells us that God is love

10:10in 1 John chapter 4 beginning in verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for God is love,

10:19and everyone who is born of God and knows God, he who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

10:28And in this love of God was manifested towards us that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world

10:36that we might live through him. In this love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be

10:45the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

10:55We glean here that overall, God is love, but yet this does not describe the definition of who God is,

11:04but rather it describes his relationship to us as our Father. As the only begotten Son,

11:13Jesus, sacrificially gave himself that we might live through him. So then, dear ones, this tells us that

11:23we are to give ourselves to him and to one another. Someone may ask, how do I know that God lives in me?

11:34Well, Apostle John, who is called John the theologian by the Orthodox Church, has given us the answer

11:42in the continuing scripture from 1 John chapter 4 in verses 12 through 16. And let's read these verses so

11:53we can see God through love. Verse 12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another,

12:01God abides in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us,

12:10because he has given us his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior

12:18of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God abides in him and he in God.

12:26And we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love abides

12:36in God and God in him. So, in these few verses, we see John's four-fold answer that we can know and see if

12:48God truly lives in us. Breaking it down and clearly seeing it in scripture, number one in verse 12 says,

12:59if we love one another. And number two, verse 13 declares, if we have been given his Spirit.

13:10Number three, verse 15 tells us, if we can confess Jesus, the Son of God. And finally, number four is

13:24found in verse 16, which says, if we abide in the love of God. That's a big one. If we abide in the love of

13:36God. So, dear listener and followers, these sum up in clear terms that our Christian love ought to be

13:46found in love towards God and all those around us, which is described in a word called our neighbors.

13:57And this brings us to the greatest commandment of the whole Bible, which is found in Matthew chapter 22,

14:04beginning in verse 37, which declares, Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all of

14:13your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

14:19And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You see, the goal of this

14:26commandment is to learn how to genuinely love God and our neighbors, which says, in essence, this is a

14:35discipline, and it takes synergistic cooperation with Almighty God, which means that we work together

14:43for the common goal, and that is for eternal life, which is found only in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

14:51Colossians chapter 3, verse 14, tells us, but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of

15:03perfection. This is a goal of scripture that amounts to instructing us in how to love correctly and

15:13sincerely, both by its instruction, which are applied to different experiences and circumstances, and also by

15:21examples from life that we have along our way on this journey. But first of all, we must learn to love God, so that

15:32this warmth of his love would fill and transform all of our being, enlighten our thoughts, warm our hearts, direct our

15:42will and our actions, so that God becomes the one that we hunger after the most, and becomes the most important

15:50one in our lives as we pursue our eternal goal. There's a dear saint called Abba Dorotheos of Gaza, who lived during

16:03around 500 to 565 AD, and he was a disciple of Saint Barcenopus and John the prophet, who served as a monk,

16:16and later he became the abbot in a monastery in the monastic community of Gaza. His teachings, especially his

16:27spiritual discourses, are foundational in Eastern Orthodox Christian thought, emphasizing humility,

16:36love, and the inner struggle towards holiness. And his metaphor of the circle remains one of the most

16:45enduring illustrations of personal and community spiritual growth. He illustrates the interrelationship

16:55of love for God and for people by saying, let us imagine, he says, a large circle. And let us suppose

17:04that this circle is our world, and the center of it is God, and the dots on its periphery are people. Some

17:13are closer to the center, that is to God, while others are farther away from him. They draw closer to the

17:20center through the center through the measure of their love for God, and through the same measure they draw

17:25closer to one another, while in contrast their animosity draws them further away from one another and

17:35simultaneously distances them away from God. Such is the nature of love. The measure of our unity to those

17:44close close to us determines our closeness to God. And although God abides in an unreachable world,

17:53he is near to each and every one of us as our Father and Savior at the same time. And this is why we can

18:02and must love him. You see, dear ones, this metaphor is one of the most elegant expressions of Christian

18:12spiritual relationship between God and also with one another. It shows that love for God and love for

18:20our neighbors are not separate paths, but converging ones. The more we draw near to God, the more we are

18:28united with others and vice versa. Orthodox Christianity teaches that nothing can truly separate us from the

18:38love of God, but our own choices rooted in sin and pride and fear and can obscure our awareness of it and

18:48hinder our ability to love him and others. I have learned on my journey in pursuing my Orthodox faith that sin

19:00does not cause God does not cause God to withdraw his love from us, but rather it causes us to turn away

19:08from him, just as we saw in the metaphor with Saint Abba Dorotheos of Gaza. Like Adam hiding in the garden,

19:18we imagine that God is angry with us and rejects his presence out of shame. But Orthodox theology emphasizes that

19:27God's love is constant and invincible even in the face of our sinfulness. We have all had pride and

19:36even self-reliance. These are two big hindrances. Pride blinds us to our need for grace and makes us believe

19:45that we can earn and control God's love. It leads to judgment of others and spiritual isolation because of our

19:53our choices where true humility opens the heart to receive love and to extend it freely. And then there

20:02is fear of and misunderstanding of God. Fear of punishment or rejection distorts our image of God. The Orthodox

20:12teaching shows us in first John chapter 4 verse 18 that perfect love casts out fear. When we see God as a

20:21wrathful or unconditional God, we hide from him rather than run towards him. And as we learn and

20:28experience his love for us, that fearfulness of his wrath turns into awe and reverence and worship of his

20:37almightiness and power and his grace. You see, in contrast, there is isolation and lack of communion or

20:47fellowship when we do turn away from our fellowship when we do turn away from God because love is relational.

20:53And when we isolate ourselves emotionally, spiritually, or physically, we only hinder love with God.

21:02The church is a body of Christ. It's a place of healing and communion where separation from the church often leads to

21:10spiritual dryness and disconnection from others. Then with that comes unrepentant guilt and shame.

21:19Guilt is meant to lead us to repentance, not despair. When we dwell in shame without turning to God,

21:28we remain stuck in spiritual paralysis. Whereas Orthodox spirituality encourages confession and metanoia,

21:40which is a Greek word that means having a change of heart as the path to restoration.

21:47Some people have false images of God and see God as angry or distant and transactional,

21:56which leads to spiritual confusion. When people describe God as transactional,

22:03they're referring to a distorted view of divine relationship, one that resembles a business deal

22:12rather than a covenant of love. And this reason is spiritually harmful because it fosters fear and

22:20guilt and performance anxiety rather than trust and intimacy and transformation.

22:27It distorts the nature of grace, which is freely given, not bought or bargained for,

22:34lead to resentment or spiritual burnout when life doesn't pay off as we expected.

22:42The Orthodox Church teaches that God is relational, not transactional.

22:48God's love is unconditional and unchanging. He does not love us because we are good.

22:56He loves us so that we may become good. Salvation is not a deal, dear one. It is a healing process,

23:07a journey of communion and fellowship through synergy, which again means that we cooperate with God's grace.

23:15But we must remember, we never earn it. Orthodox tradition teaches that God is always pursuing us,

23:25even in our brokenness. The clearer our understanding of his mercy and grace, the more freely we love him and others.

23:35I would be remiss if I did not mention the main things that cause us to move away from God and his love and cause one to cease to enjoy his peace and joy.

23:51Orthodox Christianity teaches that sin is anything that distorts our relationship with God and others and ourselves.

23:59And the most spiritually damaging of sins are those that harden the heart, obscure truth, and block communion of the divine love of God.

24:11There are main categories of sin that Orthodox tradition identifies separating us from God,

24:18and these seven sins are often called the deadly sins because they attack the soul's capability to love and receive love.

24:28They are listed as pride, which is the root of all sin because pride elevates the self above others and above God.

24:38It blinds us to our need for grace and makes us resistant to repentance.

24:44St. Isaac the Syrian writes that pride walks in darkness and cannot perceive wisdom.

24:52Greed or covetousness is an excessive desire for wealth or possession that replaces trust in God,

25:02and it leads to exploitation, injustice, and spiritual emptiness.

25:07Greed turns the heart inward and away from generosity and communion.

25:13And the next is lust.

25:15And the next is lust.

25:16It is an unbalanced desire that treats others as objects rather than persons.

25:22It distorts love and intimacy, replacing self-giving with self-gratification.

25:29Lust can lead to addiction, broken relationship, and spiritual confusion.

25:35And the next is anger.

25:38It is an uncontrolled rage or resentment that poisons relationship and clouds judgment and often stems from wounded pride and unmet expectations.

25:51Orthodox teaching encourages patience and forgiveness as its antidote to anger.

25:59And another is gluttony.

26:01Gluttony is overindulgence in food, drink, or pleasure that dulls spiritual awareness.

26:08It reflects a lack of discipline and gratitude.

26:13Fasting in orthodoxy is a spiritual tool to combat gluttony and restore balance.

26:22And another is envy.

26:24It is resentment of others' blessings or success.

26:28And it leads to bitterness, to rivalry, and spiritual isolation.

26:33Envy denies the goodness of God's gifts and fosters division.

26:39And the last is sloth or spiritual laziness.

26:44It is apathy towards prayer, repentance, and spiritual growth.

26:50And it manifests as procrastination, indifference, or despair.

26:56Now, orthodox tradition also warns against sins of disbelief, despair, and rebellion, such as denying God's mercy or cursing or mistreating people with harmful or toxic speech.

27:12These latter ones are very prevalent in our day today and cross the bounds from the world right into the church.

27:21And sometimes this is referred to as bullying in our modern-day vernacular.

27:27And the Bible consistently warns against harmful speech and emotional cruelty.

27:34For instance, in James chapter 3, beginning in verse 6, we read,

27:40The tongue is a fire.

27:42With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

27:49And this passage highlights the spiritual danger of toxic speech.

27:55In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29, the word tells us,

28:01Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is as good for building up.

28:09Dear ones, this encourages edifying speech and condemns verbal harm.

28:16The Orthodox Church condemns verbal speech and toxic speech among lay members as spirituality destructive and contrary to Christian love.

28:27Scripture and the church fathers and canonical tradition all speak clearly against slander and gossip and harsh speech and emotional harm.

28:38And the early fathers viewed verbal abuse as serious that spiritually wounds both the speaker and the hearer.

28:48St. John Christosom said,

28:50Nothing is more unseemly than abusive language.

28:54It is better to be wrong than to wrong another with words.

28:59St. John frequently preached against gossip and slander and verbal cruelty.

29:06And St. Basil the Great said in his writing called Long Rules,

29:12He condemns reviling and insulting speech, linking it to spiritual pride and lack of love.

29:19St. Ephraim the Syrian warns that the tongue can kill without a sword, emphasizing the deadly power of words.

29:29And St. Isaac the Syrian teaches that silence is often better than speech, especially when words are used to harm.

29:40So in cases like this, the Orthodox Church recommends pastoral intervention, spiritual support, and canonical accountability

29:51when lay members suffers verbal abuse from one another, a member, even if the victim remains silent or confused about how to respond.

30:03You see, dear ones, silence does not equate or compare with gossip.

30:09And the church encourages victims to seek help and healing and protection from those who persist to abuse or harangue with demeaning unnecessary words.

30:20And looking at how Orthodox tradition addresses the situation in people who remain silent because they equate bringing up the issue with gossip.

30:32And that needs to be clarified.

30:35In Orthodox teaching, gossip involves spreading harmful or unnecessary information about others.

30:42But reporting abuse or seeking help is not gossip.

30:47It is a moral and spiritual responsibility.

30:52St. John Christensen made it clear when he said,

30:56To speak of another sin for the sake of healing is not gossip, but love.

31:02In Matthew chapter 18, in verses 15 through 17,

31:08Christ outlines the process for addressing harm, first privately, then with witness, and finally through the church,

31:19and that would be with one's priest or spiritual father.

31:23In Orthodox theology, every lay person is a royal priesthood, according to 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9,

31:32and are called to reflect Christ's love, not just to receive it.

31:38Hurtful words among the laity are not a minor violation, but they are spiritual wounds that requires repentance, forgiveness, and healing.

31:50And finally, dear listener and followers,

31:53ultimately sin is not just breaking the rules.

31:57It is identified and defined as missing the mark or failing to live in the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

32:06But for those who have ears to hear, there is hope for our fallen nature due to the passions of the flesh.

32:14These are repentance, confession, communion, and are the pathways back to the divine intimacy with God once again.

32:24I have learned on my journey into the missing truths of Orthodoxy that she, the church,

32:31emphasizes that the pathway back into repentance and favor with God is a deeply personal sacramental process rooted in humility, confession, and spiritual renewal.

32:47We have to have recognition of our sin and a longing desire for reconciliation.

32:55Repentance begins with the acknowledgement of one's sins, not just as a moral failing, but as ruptures in one's relationship with God.

33:05And this recognition is often inspired by the Holy Spirit and leads to a heartfelt desire to return to communion with God.

33:15The church teaches that true repentance is not merely an emotional regret, but a turning of the heart and the will towards God.

33:26This will begin with confession before a priest.

33:31The individual confesses sins to a priest who acts as a witness and spiritual guide and provides prayer of absolution where the person is then reconciled to God and the church.

33:43And then, of course, there is ongoing spiritual discipline.

33:47The Orthodox Church recognizes, emphasizes that repentance is not just a one-time event, but a lifelong practice and process.

33:59The faithful are encouraged to attend divine liturgy regularly and to receive the Eucharist after proper preparation.

34:08There is the practice of fasting and prayer and almsgiving and study of scripture and reading of the lives of the saints.

34:17And you see, finally, dear ones, the goal of repentance is not just forgiveness, but transformation into the likeness of Christ.

34:28In the Orthodox tradition, this journey is not merely about being forgiven.

34:34It is about being transfigured, and this opens up a whole new dimension of his love.

34:41We do not return to God simply to be absolved, but we return to be reshaped, renewed, and restored into the likeness of Christ himself.

34:54This is the true miracle of repentance, not just a pardon, but transformation into the image and likeness of our beloved Savior,

35:05who became like us so we could become like he is.

35:09God is love, and this is what we are pursuing.

35:14Please continue with me on this journey of growing together in this wonderful ancient faith called Orthodoxy.

35:24And I guarantee you, dear ones, we will discover the hidden truths that began at Pentecost 29 AD,

35:32the very day the church was born and celebrates her birth.

35:37You too, just like me, will be surprised by the love of God when your spiritual eyes are opened to see these mysteries come alive right before your eyes.

35:50Just keep hurting the eyes of what I'm talking, no one little more.

36:11Thank you, Gem.

Category

Transcript

Recommended