Loving The God Way

When believers are asked the question “what is love”? We are often in a hurry to give a true but cliché answer that “God is love”. This is true indeed; God is love. But what is truly the God way to love? What should we as believers do, when we keep showing love to both believers and unbelievers, and they keep being repulsive and unresponsive? In this situation, what must we do? As humans, we are sure to become weary of loving people especially if we do it independent of the help of the Holy Spirit. But I believe that this article will help us understand even better, what loving the God way should consummate.

1. Love in its seed phase

Think of love in the form of seedlings about to be earthed. Wherein we must allow the principle of seed, time, and harvest to take its cause. Indeed we must realize that to reap love in this world, we must join in sowing it with deliberate hands. We must ensure to not only sow the seed of love, but also allow it time to yield us a harvest. The summary is that, we must bear in mind that for seeds to yield fruits, they will have to undergo both time and the natural process of dying, which leads us to the next phase.

2. Love in its dying phase

For seeds to bud, they have to die first. This is a simple law of nature. It is true that in the death phase, believers are most a times weary of showing and giving love. We often do not take into cognizance the parable of the sower, and most a times, we forget to factor in the possibility that some of our love seeds might fall on rocky grounds and others might be carried off by the birds of the air. It is okay for our love seeds to fall on unrepentant hearts, as long as we keep at it. We must be sensitive to understand that without giving our love seeds the nutrients that it needs in this critical phase, our seeds will not only remain dead in the ground, but also, it will not make it to the next phase. But as believers, if we keep at it, victory will certainly be ours because love in its dying phase is one of the most delicate and toughest phases our love seeds could ever be. And if we don’t give up, we will unlock the treasures found in the next phase…

3. Love in its sprouting phase

It is in this phase that little by little, we ought to begin to see the profits of our labors. Here we might catch a glimpse of ‘unripe fruits’ or some roses amid the weeds. We most definitely will begin to notice a change or two in the way that unbeliever relates with us. But we must ensure never to become lax in our nurturing of love because this phase will need sensitivity and protection of our near-harvest. We have observed the behaviors of farmers when their seeds are in this phase. It is true that they become even more protective, observant and cautious of predators, in this case; foul spirits, vile men, and women who might want to become thorns to choke and kill the sprouting love fruit. But we must therefore protect our love fruits by watching and praying without ceasing, and must continue to prune and supply them with nutrients in right proportions.

4. Love in its blooming phase

This phase highlights the maturity of the fruit (believer, convert or sinner). It also depicts when the believer can stand on his own, plant love seeds and dazzle the world with the light he has received. Herein is the fulfilment of the scripture “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32) for it is wrong to receive love and not share with others. Finally, this phase prioritizes harvest. As we keep loving, evangelizing, giving alms, and shinning God’s light, our final goal must be to bring in a harvest to God’s kingdom because, to whom much is given, indeed much is expected. Peace and blessings be multiplied to us all as we receive illumination.

Written By ABIMBOLA OTEGBADE