Love Stops Harm

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8 NJKV) This is a stinger because if we truly know what love is, it definitely indicates that we know and understand God. God created and programmed us to desire connection with Him, but He loved us enough to give us free will to choose to come to know Him and relate to Him. Our ability to understand love and relate to others here on earth properly depends on our choice to follow God.

Let’s look at Romans 13:8-10. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

It appears we need to have love in order to not harm others. Otherwise, we are going to be selfish and commit one of the things listed in these verses. It counts if you just think it. Where your heart lies is where your thoughts will go and thus determines your actions. Galatians 5:14 NKJV, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This is the second commandment and to know love we have to know and love God, which is the first commandment. Then the other eight are easy to do if we get a handle on the first two. If you do not properly love your neighbor you won’t properly follow the commandments and harm will come.

So let’s do what 1 John 4:16 NKJV says. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. If we believe in God and learn to relate to him with love as He loves us, we can properly love even our enemies and not cause harm of any type to anyone.

Don’t expect to be perfect and not cause some issues, but know you can learn from every mistake and overcome what has stopped you from loving properly. What will you do today to get into God’s love and learn to show proper love to others?