Friday

Related Verses
1 John 4:16
16 And we know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

Matt. 5:44-45
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
45 So that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Eph. 3:19
19 And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

1 Cor. 13:1-3, 13
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I dole out all my possessions to feed others, and if I deliver up my body that I may boast, but do not have love, I profit nothing.
13 Now there abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Related Reading
The brothers and sisters in the church life may love one another, but their love may be rather superficial. In their love there may be no life supply and no “antibiotic” to foster healing. This means that their love is lacking in agape. But in Peter’s love for the brothers, there is another element, and this element is the divine love, a love that supplies us with wisdom to love the brothers in a proper way. Sometimes we love others foolishly, in a way that can spoil them. We do not have the wisdom to love them in a way that will enable them to receive the life supply and be nourished. God’s love is not only nourishing but also contains a spiritual antibiotic that fosters healing and prevents illness. If we love the brothers with divine love, we will infuse such an antibiotic into them. For example, you may realize that a brother has a certain shortage or weakness. You know that teaching or correction will not help the brother. This brother needs to be loved with a noble love. If you love him with this kind of love, he will receive the life supply and an antibiotic that can kill the “germs” within him. In the church life we need to love one another with discernment, not foolishly. We need to love the brothers with the high purpose of nourishing them and helping them to be healed. (Life-study of 2 Peter, p. 59) 

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Matthew 5:45 tells us that God sends rain on both the just and the unjust. But He does this with wisdom…He loves them with discernment. Likewise, we should not withhold love from the saints. We should love all the brothers, but we should love them with discernment [and also] according to a measure or within a limitation. If we love a brother excessively, that love may spoil him. We need to love him only to a certain extent. But another brother may be in need of a greater measure of love. To love others in this way is to love them not merely with brotherly affection but also with agape. 

Often our brotherly love is dependent on the tide of our emotions…When the emotional tide of some brothers is high, they will do almost anything to help you. But when the emotional tide is low, they are not willing to help at all…That kind of love is not agape. The divine love does not depend on our emotional tide. Because this love has its source in the divine life, it does not change. We need to learn to love the brothers with this divine love, not with the love that depends on the tide of our emotions. 

God’s love is consistent. If we love others with this love, we will also be consistent. Whenever someone contacts us, we will be the same with respect to our love. We will always love others with discernment and according to their need. We may realize that one brother needs a certain measure of love. Therefore, we will measure out, mete out, that much love to him. But another brother may need a different measure of love to meet his need. This is a noble kind of love. 

We need to have this divine love in our married life and family life. Peter charges the husbands to assign honor to the wife (1 Pet. 3:7). This requires a noble love. 

It is common for sisters to love their husbands emotionally and without discernment or measure. When such a sister is happy or high in her emotion, she will love her husband accordingly. But if she is unhappy or angry, she will not love him. That kind of love is emotional and does not contain the element of agape. However, another sister, with more experience in the Lord, will consistently love her husband and children but will always love with a measure and with discernment. This kind of love is surely a noble love. (Life-study of 2 Peter, pp. 59-61) 

Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msg. 7