Day 48
I John 4:16
"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
The Bible shows us how we can activate the love of God in our lives. Love is a part of the fruit of our spirits, according to Galatians 5:22. Romans 5:5 lets us know that God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Dwelling in love and dwelling in God is considered synonymous, according to I John 4:16. Therefore, experiencing or possessing the love that is obviously ours is a matter of getting closer to God and stirring up what is in us.
Drawing closer to God - getting more of Him in us and more of us in Him will automatically increase our functional love level. We can tell when we are drawing closer to God, because we will be walking in a higher level of obedience. (You cannot walk together with someone if you are going in opposite directions.) I John 2:5 says, "But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him." II John 6 says, "And this is love, that we walk after His commandments."
So, to increase the manifestation of love in our lives, we must pursue a closer walk with God. To pursue, one has to forsake. To press forward, one has to push away from. To get closer to God and get more of His love activated in us, we must resist loving the world. I John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." When we see love for the world, or its contents or pleasures creeping up on us or attracting us, we must press toward God - thereby pushing away from the world.
Love is also stirred up by practicing love deeds. Love is not just a noun, it is a verb. I John 3:18 says, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth." Hebrews 13:1, amplified version, says, "Let love for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you -never let it fail."
Finally we must not tolerate, but resist fear. "There is no fear in love...He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (I John 4:18) We will keep love up and fear down as we cast out fear each time it approaches.
I have God's perfect love in me,and I cast away all fear. I dwell in God and, consequently, I dwell in love. I forsake the love of the world and the things that are in the world that the love of the Father may remain constant in me. I practice love. I love in deed and in truth.