What is Authentic Love?
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;”
Romans 12:9-10
Love is commanded. Do you want real love? Then it cannot be counterfeit. The world is full of pretend love. People who are infatuated with the idea of someone often mistake this for love. People who tolerate all kinds of evil claim they are loving an individual and thus become an accessory to that evil. The love God commands cannot be counterfeit; it must be authenticated by the only source of true love, Jehovah.
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." 1 John 4:20-21
Our love for one another must be absent of hate. We cannot fulfill the actions of hate and claim to love one another. Moreover, the Spirit clearly shows the impossibility of loving an unseen God when you fail to love your clearly visible brother.
The sin of Cain still resonates as he failed to love his brother because his hate would not allow him to do so. Remember how Jehovah cautioned Cain as He counseled him. “If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it. (Gen 4:7). Cain could have done right, he had the option to counter the anger in his heart by clinging to what was good. His brother had offered a good (approved) sacrifice, surely Abel wanted his brother to worship the God of heaven with his dear brother, Cain. Cain’s misplaced anger would not allow for this to happen, but allowed Satan’s influence to take precedence in his heart.
How might this story have changed if Cain would have held his brother with the tender affection that God commands each of us to? Would he have continued in fellowship with his family? Yes. Would he have continued in right fellowship with Jehovah? Yes. Would he have worshiped according to the correct pattern delivered by God (Rom 10:17)? Yes! However, that was not the case, and sadly the sin of Cain spilled the blood of his brother.
Abel has a counterpart in likeness when Christians fail to love one another. When love is hypocritical, we seek our agendas over the will of God. We second guess and criticize, we gossip and backbite. When this is done, it is no wonder that some brethren depart from the faith. Some of those have never loved the brethren authentically. Others of those may have felt (and it might be true) that they were not loved authentically by their brethren. Whatever the reason for their absence, let's not be content with them being absent. We have a unique opportunity to reach out to some who are missing from the pews but more importantly the work of the body. Send them a text, call them, and invite them to come to the Gospel Meeting. Sunday and each night will provide a great opportunity to show the brotherly love our Lord calls us. Christianity demands love. Let us love one another.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
