Jesus’ Favourite Word
May 31, 2021 3636
Sometimes we have words we really like. I’ve been to Ukraine many times. There, they speak the Ukrainian language (and most people speak Russian as well). My favourite word in Ukrainian is перекусити. It means “snack.” When you write it using in English it’s “perekusyty.”
It probably sounds very weird, but I actually don’t know why I like that word so much. I’ve liked the sound of it when I first heard it. I guess it just sounds “yummy.”
It’s fascinating to realise that Jesus has a favourite word too. It’s got a much better meaning than “snack”, because the word is “love.” And it’s not so much the noun that Jesus loves, but the verb. He loves “doing” love.
This is the verb that Jesus elevated above every other word.
Jesus’ favourite word is “love”.
When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, he didn’t answer with the one about not having other gods before him, or with the one about not killing, or the Sabbath. In fact, it wasn’t even explicitly included in any of the commandments that God gave his people at Sinai. Instead, it was a commandment that Moses gave the people forty years after Sinai, shortly before his death. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4 as the greatest commandment. And he quoted Leviticus 19:18 as the second-greatest. Here are the words of Jesus:
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29–31, NIV).
What Jesus was saying here is that love is the foundation of all of God’s law. Love is at the core of everything he wants and expects from us. If you want to summarise all of the teachings of the Bible in a single word, it’s the duty to love (See Galatians 5:14).
Love is at the core of all God wants from us.
There are words that we often really do like. These are words such as fairness, justice, righteousness, kindness, compassion. We can explore the meanings of these words and talk about them a great deal. But the reality is that they are all summarised in the simple word “love.” If you truly love, you are fully manifesting all of those other virtues as well.
You know, no-one ever lost out by loving too much. That’s true even when relationships have broken down, or the debt collectors been following you, or even when death has come knocking. If you have truly loved, you will hold your head high because you have walked in integrity, and you have pleased God.
Today, you’re going to be challenged many times and in many ways to love. It might be the person at the supermarket who runs into you with their trolley. It might be your gossipy and vindictive colleague at work. It might be your partner who is waiting for you when you get home.
Just love them. And if you can’t love them, then ask Jesus for some of his love to love them with. He’s got plenty to give you. Because it’s his favourite word.
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STEVE AJIKE
Jun 7, 2021
Love is the greatest force; that is the reason God shares it in the heart of every believer by the Holy Spirit to give us the capacity to love like Him and reconcile the dying world to Him. Love is the most beautiful thing that can bring the unlovable into the realm of Grace and Mercy. Jesus manifested this when he died for us while we were rummaging in sin and iniquity. It is my earnest desire to be clothed in God's divine nature objectified in ambience of love.
Ebsa Kebede
Jun 6, 2021
1 John 4 (KJV) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. ⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. ⁹ In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. ¹⁰ Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. ¹² No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³ Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 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. ¹⁷ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us. ²⁰ 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, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? ²¹ And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
noreerat Noparatanaraporn
Jun 6, 2021
*Love is so powerful and can do and change all things. If we love God, we can do anything to please Him and love others even our enemies. Our lives will change when His love floods us and it is the only way to love others as ourselves which is not easy but to love our enemies can only possible if we love the Lord enough to obey His commands. PTL for all things is possible thru Christ who strengthens me! Helluluya!
JASON ANDREW TOPPIN
Jun 6, 2021
AS OI SIT HERE AND THIINK ALL THAT GD IS DOING FOR BE A HE HAS ONE OF ME AND WHAT HE WL D FOR ME I AA SO AMAZED BY THIS
Olivia
May 31, 2021
as I sit here on memorial Day weekend I must say how bless I am to be truly Love first to feel the power of God Love then to really feel and know how much your other significant truly love you I got to give God the praise first and formally I feel his love all around me I know that's God favor word (Love) everyday my spouse Anthony tells me how much he truly loves me but coming from a broken family where there's no love in the home at the time I was coming up so with my spouse telling me every minute or 5 minutes or all day how much he loves me I find it so hard to believe or to accept cuz of my childhood broken home broken family but today I can accept and has accepted God's greatest love also my spouse true love that he has for me so thanks to my creator from heaven and Earth and this day full to my Lord Jesus Christ and savior for continue loving me as a child of God love peace and joy and may sustain y'all from the love of our heavily father and his son Jesus Christ amen hallelujah amen.
Robert
Aug 11, 2021
love it's first of all. Jesus save us becouse love us . Halellujah