Ephesians 5:2
[2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
We are to walk in love, not in lust. What is the difference? Love is from God. Anything else that claims to be love that does not come from God is not pure love. Paul tells us to walk in love, then defines it by giving the example of Christ. AS Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Lust is concerned with what it can get. Love is concerned with what it can give. Lust, even when it receives what it claims it desires, is never satisfied. Sacrificial love, found in God, will fulfill our every desire. Walk in love. The main reason that we fall into sin is because we are lacking in our love for God at some level.
We often try to counter sin by trying in our own efforts to sin less. But, a far more effective plan is to draw closer to God, and love him more. We should pray that the Lord would help us to love him more. It is amazing how many people are deceived into thinking that they are walking in love, yet they are actually walking in lust. If you are pursuing how you can feel loved, that is lust. If you are pursuing how you can sacrifice so that others will feel love, you are showing that you have been imitating God, and his love.
“Gary Richmond, a former zoo keeper, had this to say: Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young friend of mine, Julie. She listened politely as I explained the coming danger. I'll never forget her answer. "It will be different for me. . ." And she smiled as she added, "Bandit wouldn't hurt me. He just wouldn't." Three months later Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason. Bandit was released into the wild. Sin, too, often comes dressed in an adorable guise, and as we play with it, how easy it is to say, "It will be different for me." The results are predictable.
- Gary Richmond, View From The Zoo.
The enemy shows us things and tells us, this will give you love. But, after we have cuddled it and made it a part of our lives we discover that it could never give us genuine love. When that raccoon attacked its owner it was behaving in its natural way. Sin, always acts that way. It provides temporal pleasure, but eternal death.
How do we avoid sin's deadliness? Imitate God. Be committed to the truth of his word. Walk in his love. It’s interesting that Paul had to remind the Ephesian believers to walk in love. In just a few years after the writing of this Epistle, the Apostle John wrote the Ephesians a letter directly from Jesus himself. John’s Revelation included letters to seven churches in Asia. One of them was the church at Ephesus. Hear Jesus’ very words to the church.
Revelation 2:4-5
[4] But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. [5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
If you are in a place where you are falling into perpetual sin, I want to encourage you to try something different. Do what Jesus told the church at Ephesus to do. Go back and do those things you did when you first fell in love with Jesus. Do you remember back to your salvation experience? Do you remember your heart being transformed? Do you remember the joy that overwhelmed your heart? What did you do then? Do those things!
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