We Are Called to Love One Another

     The Bible calls us to love one another; that is, everyone is called to show a Christ-like love for each other.  Christ calls us to Himself by living for Him and dying to self.  We are called to die to self and love our neighbor.  No person should hate their neighbor; that is, we are called to love one another.  To love as Christ loves is to lay our lives down for our neighbor; that is, this is Christ-like love.  No mere man calls us to this awesome command, but the God-man who is Almighty God in human flesh.  We ought to love one another, because this is what Christ calls each one of us to do.  We do not please God if we do not love our one another.  We ought not to love the world.  We must do as Christ says, "If you love Me, keep my commandments."  His command for us is to love each other.  Every person should listen to our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ.  Love is the essence of an eternal hope that is found in Christ alone.  The essence of Christ alone is dying for His people.  This is His awesome love for His people alone.  No mere man calls us to a higher standard then Christ alone.  Keeping His commandments is by grace alone and growth in progressive sanctification.  Loving God and one another is a key focus in living for Him alone.  We are called to love God and our neighbor because it is His chief command.  There is no love except that comes by His sovereign command in monergistic regeneration: from the Father through His Son by His Spirit.  Love is from above and there is no love unless God grants it to us.  He changes our hearts and loves us with a profound love.  This love changes the heart of man into a heart that now longs and thirsts and hungers for God and to keep His commandments.  There is no falling away from God's love in our hearts; that is, it is impossible.  The grace that He gives us is with us for life and people will see this love toward others in our life.  The love of Christ calls us home to His sheltering love and His love never fails.  Our love is imperfect and fails at times, but His love is perfect.  There is no love except in a heart changed by the Spirit and the Word.  We ought to love our neighbor.  If we fail in loving our neighbor we must repent.  The love of Christ calls us to love each other.  No one calls us to a greater or higher standard then to love.  We must love Christ and others as a descriptive manifestation of the commandments of Christ.  Those who profess Christ ought to profess love.  Those who profess love profess to follow His command.  We ought never to be disloyal to Christ and His command, but we should always love with no excuses.   If we fail to love, we fail at His command; however, we are called to a life of repentance and no repentance is alterable.  Every repentance is set in stone as asking for forgiveness and receiving forgiveness.  There is a command of love that teaches us we are to love with great passion and desire for His glory.  We ought to repent when we love imperfectly, but we could never repent unless God granted it.  We all should love because we are given the same Spirit.  This is in terms of believers in Christ.  We must love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and love each other.  There is no love except the love that comes from God.  No one should hate but love that gives us a Christ-like hope.  A Christ-like hope is a Savior and Redeemer that gives His life for His people to die for them and keep them to Himself.  There is no keeping power except in Christ alone.  Christ keeps us in His Beloved and to Himself, but no one can snatch them out of His Hand.  The keeping power of the Father's love is through His Son by His Spirit and no one takes the elect sinner out of His Hand; that is, we love with the love that loved us, but we are sinful creatures.  Every elect sinner will be forgiven in His keeping power and we are to love Him with an everlasting love, but everyone is accountable to love as He loves.  All sinner's are called to love one another and love this day as He loved us.  Let us pray, "Lord, may we love as You have loved us and may we keep loving our neighbor and God Himself.  Amen."