What the Bible says about Love as Life
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Life without love is death because it is a life of selfishness, the opposite of what God is. John says it is like being blindfolded and having blurred judgment besides. Yet we have the love of God; He has shed it abroad in our hearts by His Spirit (Romans 5:5). This is not an abstract love for people in distant lands but is toward and for those with whom we have daily contact. God's love not only enables us to make progress in His way, it is the solution to the murder problem.
Hatred, the spirit of murder, destroys fellowship with God and man. If one has hatred toward another, it proves he does not love God. God is love. No one with the spirit of murder within him is in the image of God. Such an attitude must be overcome, for no murderer will enter His Kingdom.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sixth Commandment (Part One) (1997)Related Topics: Conformed to God's Image | God is Love | God's Love | God's Love for Us | Hatred | Image and Likeness of God | Love | Murder | Murder, Spirit of | Sixth Commandment | Spirit of Murder | Spiritual Blindness | The Sixth Commandment