Love Is My Portion

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:5 (ESV), “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”.

This scripture really spoke to my soul when I learned it and as I began to research it, I discovered that I had to ask God to cleanse my heart and make it new before him. It was important for me to develop a new heart because my old heart was filled with so much pain, anger, resentment, hate and bitterness.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalms 51:10 (ESV).

So, I began asking God for forgiveness for the things in my past. I could not heal if I could not be honest and confess to the Lord all of my wrongdoings. God honors those who recognize their sins and cling to the cross.

By purifying my heart, I was able to set my soul free and become new in the spirit. I had to re-learn how to think and create a good conscience, because my old conscience was mostly made up of toxic affirmations that were condemning, criticizing, chastising, berating and blaming.

But, God’s ways are not our ways.

His ways tell us to think on whatever is true and noble, whatever is right and pure, whatever is lovely and admirable, and whatever is excellent or praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8 NIV). Once I got in the presence of the Lord, I began to learn the difference between the enemy’s voice of condemnation and God’s voice of conviction. Satan condemns us accusingly, to make us feel guilty, but God convicts us lovingly to lead our hearts to repentance because He is the ultimate source for the life of Love.

Love cannot be turned on as a reward. It cannot be turned off as a punishment. Only something else pretending to be love can be used as a lure or a hook, for bait and switch, imitated, but NEVER the real deal. Real Love ONLY imitates God, does not pretend, and springs freely from the heart, accompanied by faith and hope.

My faith has to be completely dependent on Jesus. That radical faith of needing only Him and knowing that His grace is sufficient, because it is. By faith, I receive help and hope, salvation and satisfaction, because faith works through Love (Galatians 5:6).

I can only serve as a conduit of grace when I myself have been filled with Love because Love is the fruit of faith.

As Paul said, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”.

Love is my aim because living in the joy of the blood-bought promise ignites radical and profound love in the hearts of believers; For love magnifies the Greatness of God.