LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF
GOD FEBRUARY 13, 2025
Greetings Dear Saints,
May the LOVE of God be
upon each you every second of your daily living in His Kingdom. A song states,
“It’s love, it’s love, it’s love that makes the world go round.”How true
because God is Love and He so loved the world, which includes everything about creation
and not just the earth. God gave of Himself to and for us because of His love.
As we observe “Valentine’s
Day,” we will hear tremendous references to love. You can research love and
Valentine’s Day on the internet and discover multiple references, definitions,
“stories” and whatever else you want to find out. As you may know, there are
various levels of love, but the highest level and the only one deserving of all
our heart, mind, might, and strength is GOD’S LOVE. In the Greek it is called
“Agape” meaning the type of love that is God’s.
So, God is love, and God
so loved the world that He gave of Himself, His Only Begotten Son, our Savior,
Jesus Christ. There are numerous scriptures that refer to what is known as “The
Great Commandment.” What is that commandment? Don’t forget the second one.
However, sometimes we may hear something so much that we “turn it off.” What
God has asked us to do is to so incorporate the Great commandment into our
hearts, minds, body, spirit, soul that despite the efforts of the adversary, we
will never forget or turn away from His love.
In Matthew when Jesus was
asked what the great commandment was, he said that all the laws and
commandments hang on these two, love God with all and your neighbor as
yourself. In Mark, in a similar session, Jesus told the young man, who had said
that to obey the two great commandments is more than all the burnt offerings
and sacrifices, “You are not far from the kingdom.” In Luke we get the parable
of the “Good Samaritan” with the understanding of who our neighbor is. These
great commandments are also brought to our attention in the Old Testament, Book
of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants.
It is said that the first
mention of love in the Bible is Genesis 22:2 where God spoke to Abraham and
said, “Take now thy son, thine only Isaac, whom thou lovest…” God was directing
Abraham to take Isaac and offer him for a sacrifice. Notice, God did not say
“Thine only son” but, “Thine only Isaac.” God knew what it meant and would
mean to “Give His Only Begotten Son.”
So, if God gave His best,
even Himself for each of His creation, we should not wonder then that the
Greatest Commandment is to Love God with all we have, are, or ever hope to be.
As humans, we usually try to reciprocate when it comes to giving gifts, even
valentines. That is to give, at least of equal value, but more importantly,
above and beyond. Of course, we can never “Out give God.” He does not expects
us to. He just asks that we love Him as He loves us.
But words, as important as
they might be, are not enough. Our expressions of gratitude must be carried out
in the lives we live, in the way we respond to His giving us our daily bread.
We are called to live so His will and Kingdom may come on earth as it is is
heaven. GOD LOVES YOU!
God bless,
Paul Gage
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