Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. Romans 12: 10
My Bible tells me that love is the key to Christianity. But so many judgmental Christians are ready to cast stones, spiritual versions of the ones that killed Stephen and battered Paul. So many pastors have preached judgmentalism -- the Pharisees' life milk - -and yet ignore the revolutionary social calls of Christ -- to be known by our love, not by our judgementalism.
Read the Bible. In the New Testament, which is OUR COVENANT (we learn from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, but the New Testament contains the Christian's covenant!), time after time the rule of love is taught. Why is it not obeyed by so many so called Christians?
Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). 1 John 3: 18
Living an authentic Christian life requires only two simple virtues: faith and love. Using these two qualities, a person is able to learn and exhibit the wide assortment of values required for good Christians as well as any good people in general. Faith and love together are the two keys to living a happy life as a Christian. The Bible tells us so!
Love of others and of self can be summarized in the golden rule of, "do onto others as you would want done to yourself", so through learning to love, we can come to understand compassion, respect, and hope for change in Christ. Close, loving relationships, above all, are the key to happiness in life and love is the key to securing those relationships.
He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. 1 John 4: 8
Christians are called to love in all different ways. First and foremost, a person must learn to love themselves, and only then can they learn how to love others. An authentic Christian life of love should be filled with selflessness, sharing, and compassion for others. Through helping others who are less fortunate, we fulfill something in ourselves. To live an authentic Christian life means putting love of others above petty selfishness, judgmentalism, rivalries, and worship of idols like money.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11: 6(NKJV)
The second aspect of an authentic Christian life, faith, allows us to have a basis for our lives, as well as a more intimate relationship with God. If someone questioned everything instead of having faith in others as well as God, that person could never live a happy life because he would never be fulfilled. There are too many questions in life to know the answer to them all, and anyone who searches for them all are misguided. Faith, therefore, is one of the two keys to real happiness in life. Love without faith isn't necessarily an inauthentic way to live for non-Christians, but for Christians, faith is fundamental.
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