This world is full of disappointments, hatred and sorrowful conditions. To expect anything else would be unrealistic. The moments of laughter are, but always brief, as the counteractive moments of sadness will be close by. Love is a term that is contaminated with a vast array of misinterpretations, more than any other word on this planet.
Some people practice total hatred when assuming to practice love. Others practice true love when assumed to be practising hatred. To be free from such confusion it is necessary to be specific in using words when communicating with others.
The axiomatic term “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you” should not be relegated to religious terms. The cliché is not just for sounding religious, but a life condition, to be adopted by those desiring to live. It is a principle of living from which the systematic term of Godliness emanates.
The wrong way of applying this term is assuming that one’s preference should also be other people’s preferences. But one’s preference cannot always be what other people prefer. Other people need freedom to be themselves; just as one desires to be granted freedom to be oneself.
The dynamics of existence are what make this life meaningful to some and yet gratuitous to others. Pure grain cannot be affected by a ferocious wind blow, which is always necessary to clean its conditions. It is only the chaff that gets disturbed, or affected by the turbulent wind-blow.
The analogy can be a perfect representation of the significance of true love. There is only one world through which love needs practice. Do conditions have to be right, for one to be able to practice love? How can it be possible to tell whether exercising benevolence is a fulfilment of love or misuse?
“If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:3-7 NIV).
A love-giver does not desire to be appreciated. What motivates him/her to give has nothing to do with his welfare. The Good Samaritan did not go to the newspapers to publicize his commendable acts. Neither did he feel deserving to be compensated by anyone. Many people are generous givers, only as they also desire to be acknowledged. The easiest way of attracting more gifts is appreciating the benevolent giver.
The practice of true love cannot be magnified on mountain tops, to attract due admiration from beneficiaries, as not self-seeking. If love keeps no record of wrongs, then, love cannot be associated with the consideration of self-benefit. From this principle can be deduced that love is outside the viewpoint of humanity. Love is generated from unseen sources, and is not inspired by recompense. No one can judge others when practising true love.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4 NIV).
The above passage shows that love grants self-determinism to other people, rather than influencing other people to behave in a particular way. The reason for God currently allowing sinful conditions is to grant humanity the freedom to choose to live in conditions of wickedness. The Godly way of giving leaves no room for taking credit. The millennial reign of Jesus will probably be the only time when true love will be enforced, for God’s Kingdom to prevail.
“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron sceptre and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:26-28 NIV).
The purpose of the prevailing millennial Kingdom would not necessarily be reflective of God’s Kingdom. The millennial reign of Jesus will be an earthly kingdom, under the throne of the seed of David. That Kingdom allows the pattern by which sinful humanity would be governable, under the authority of Jesus. This gives people an alternative to what currently prevails. God’s idea of the plan of salvation follows clear procedural patterns to eventually expose the sinful man.
Ordinary people will be taught true principles of love so that there will be no criminals during that Kingdom. There will be peace across the world. The results of applying God’s way of doing things, in every human activity will manifest. Agriculture will produce nutritious foods, without contamination from chemical fertilizers. Current diseases will be a thing of the past.
Unknown to most people is that the Son of Man is not necessarily different from the people of this world. The Son of Man will be identified as one from the tribe of Judah, Son of David. The only difference is that, like His saints, Jesus will be extraterrestrial, rather than terrestrial. His Kingdom is the one anticipated to be established for the duration of the millennium (One thousand years). That period is dedicated to the millennial rest fulfilment, shadowed by the Seventh Day Sabbath.
There are six thousand years dedicated for humans to practice their works, without God’s involvement. But the millennial day of the Lord is the Sabbath Rest, for humanity, being the Lord’s millennial Sabbath. This is according to the Sabbath Day Commandment given in Exodus 20:8-11. At that time, people will be taught Godly principles. See [Revisiting the significance of 7th Day Sabbath].
To express the unconditional nature of God’s love, Satan will be unleashed at the end of the millennium. This shows that there will be no one coerced into God’s Kingdom without his/her self-determinism. The most surprising phenomenon will be that some people will still prefer the calamitous six-thousand-year human rule. Exciting as a revolution is, to most Zimbabweans, a revolution will emerge, at that time.
“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number, they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-10 NIV).
It is very easy for those predisposed to be critical to see no relevance in the above Scripture. What is the point of releasing the deceiver, having conveniently been incarcerated? There is truth in that this world is highly attractive to sinful people. Even as viewed to be unacceptable, by many people, corruption is highly attractive to the wicked people, as long as they directly benefit from it.
Such people include Church leaders, hailing dishonest gains. They highlight such behaviour as being a sign that God loves them more than others. The prosperity gospel is promoted by the effects of corruption. Honest gains are commonly despised by corrupt people. Three things make living in a physical body favourable to ordinary humans. The first is sexual desire. Nothing has claimed the scalps of God’s servants more than anything else, except seduction to immoral sexual conduct.
In God’s Kingdom sex is irrelevant, as gender was designed to be inapplicable to God’s children, created in His image. Gender was designed for earthly existence. While some people may sound too moralistic about sex, very few have ever lived without being affected by immoral sexual conduct. There cannot be any one of the human races, who can claim having effectively managed to resist sexual lusts, except Jesus.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked him, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you.” Jesus declared “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:3-11 NIV).
That adulterous woman may have taken Jesus’ advice seriously or possibly ignored it. She was free to heed or not heed. No one would follow up to see whether she heeded and changed her behaviour or not. The point is that humans are free moral agents, choosing between life and death. As much as I desire that my wife and children be with me in God’s Kingdom, they may choose against that idea. My love for them is limited to granting them the freedom to choose between hell and God’s Kingdom.
Many people honestly desire this life more than the provisions of God’s Kingdom. Love requires allowing them the freedom to do so, as it is their right to follow that route. From that angle, one can see how difficult practising God’s love is, as manifested in Jesus’ murder on the cross. Ordinary people are commonly estranged from True love. The only condition they find acceptable is duress and punishment.
The other reason for desiring attachment to this world is status. Ordinary humans crave being honoured by fellow humans. Most people put hard work into their endeavours to receive honour from other humans. They consider status as the most important. This is what heightens corruption. Ordinary people consider acceptance in top echelons, extremely important, even when not identifying with their true abilities in life.
For instance, cleaning toilets is considered degraded and yet no one wants to live with messy toilets. Toilet cleaners are important, but cannot be awarded status, as toilet cleaning is considered degrading. But such services are as important as any other function. The truth is that every human was created in God’s image, and expected to be granted respect, similarly to everyone else, regardless of class.
If a person cannot categorize body limbs in terms of importance, why categorize people’s services in their different functions? Only insanity drives people to behave in that manner. True love is inconsiderate of statuses in life. Each person was created to serve other fellow humans, according to abilities. This is what should make humans significantly more important than the imagined precious minerals.
The third reason for desiring to live in physical life is to accomplish whatever designed project one takes as his duty to accomplish. This is the noblest of the three. If every human lived to fulfil such ambitions, without destruction, this world would be better. This is different from aspiring to be granted status from those desiring to always degrade other people.
Jesus never wasted time doing other things, except doing His assignment, without approval from humans. Some people survive up to a hundred years, without ever accomplishing anything. What would be known about them is their appearance at birth, followed by their last appearance at death. This is a result of not knowing the significance of love, which benefits other people more than self.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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