Monday, 19 January 2015

Ephesians 5:1-2 – Living a life of love

In Ephesians 4:32 Paul showed the magnanimity of God by forgiving us in Christ. That is the demonstration of God’s kindness and tenderness. In the light of that, believers are called to emulate that great tenderness of God.

So here in Ephesians 5:1-2, the apostle then expanded on what he had started in that verse. He began by calling us to be imitators of God as His beloved children. It is a call to live a life of love. To help us understand the magnitude of this call, let us explore the meaning of walking in love. To walk in love is simply to live a life of love, a life in which our every action and choice is flowed out of love. It’s a life of self-giving, with the glory of God and the well-being of our fellowmen in focus.  

Why should we live a life of love? Paul tells us that we are children loved by God. He is the perfect demonstration of love and He always love. If we are to imitate Him we must also walk in love.  

How the Father loves has been demonstrated in Christ. He is the best example. While He was on earth, He walked in love all of the time. The ultimate example set for us concerning love was how Christ offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. There He demonstrated God’s free, great and generous love.

As we look at how God in Christ has loved us, we are motivated to follow Him to live a life of love, just like He so loved. This is what the apostle John said, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:7-9).

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