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In 1997 Western Christian Foundation published a book by Nelson M. Smith, entitled Agape Study Manual. Brother Smith identified all the places the word love and its related terms appeared in the KJV Bible. Then he wrote comments on every single verse where love was mentioned. The book has 475 pages.
Brother Smith said he was no scholar, but one thing he understood well: Love is at the center of God’s plan of salvation.
How would our lives be changed if we read the Bible through while focused on love, especially the love of God?
How would we change the lives of others if we moved throughout each day while focused on love, especially God’s love for the lost?
How would our families change if we spent every moment with them charged with love, especially God’s familial love?
How would our congregations be changed if a handful of saints decided to love as Jesus loved?
Just reading about love in the Bible won’t change anything. But reading with open hearts, with prayers to be transformed by the Word, with effort to become like the Lord Jesus Christ, God will make love radiate from our lives outward to touch and bless everyone around us.
J. Randal Matheny
UPLift, randal.us/#UPLift
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