Do You LOVE & CHERISH Things instead of People?

Your answer to this question is probably the most telling of your relationship with our Father in Heaven and humanity. If you care more about things than you do people, what are you thinking? I’m going to start out by using Scripture to show you why people are so special to the Father… and that HE loves us in spite of our sin. He had a wonderful plan for us that we thwarted! That after all of these 1000’s of years He’s not giving up on us! Heavenly Father created man to be loved and things to be useful or advantageous to our existence on the planet. HE didn’t create things to be loved and create man to be used. The world we live in has given license to “love” things…it’s time to reject the devil’s plan and put into action the plan of THE FATHER!

John 15:12 KJV This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Human beings are created in the “IMAGE” of God!

Genesis 1: 26-27 KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

In only six days God created from NOTHING this planet, the heavens and all that’s on this planet including us…and then God actually loved us enough to put “us” humanity in charge… over the dominion of the earth – over ALL of His wonderful Creation! WOW! He said in Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21 & 25 “It was GOOD!” And after God created man and looked at His creation in Genesis 1:31 He said “IT WAS VERY GOOD”! It’s not exactly clear how long Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God in the Garden of Eden, but we do know that before sin entered in, it was perfection beyond anything that we can imagine.

His creation is so incredible: I’m awe struck by his diversity in every aspect of it’s intricate designs. However, in this world of sin that exists today, even the most physically beautiful person is far from perfection because their insides are filled with the filth of sin. Even the most gorgeous rose is but a shadow of what it would have been in God’s Garden. Just think of how sin has caused some plants to become poisonous, some bugs to spew poison and some animals to become predators!

Humans too have become less than what God had in mind for us to be and given the choice, more often than not, we choose to hate rather than love for many reasons: the color of skin, the politics of a man, the religion of a man. Sometimes man has become so used to being angry with their fellowman that the slightest offence will cause them to flare up in anger and spew hatred. Now you might be saying to yourself…”I’m a Christian and I only have love in my heart”…and I pray that this is true, but I do know for a fact, that all you need to do is go to social media and you’ll see that proclaimed Christians aren’t exempt from outrage, anger and division. Matthew 12:25 KJV And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Mark 3:25 KJV And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Luke 11:17 KJV But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. So how can we as Christians take part in a heated debate that causes division, a debate about conspiracies that cause fear, debates about politics, debates about how to dress, debates about what movie or music is the best, debates that ALL involve the world! What are we thinking to be caught up in such ugly discussions? When this happens, our minds are a long ways from Jesus and the Love he professes when we allow ourselves to become involved in these sordid things of the world. I really don’t know of a single instance when anyone changed someone else’s mind, but they did possibly cause pain to another human being over something that most likely didn’t amount to a hill of beans in the scope of eternity.

Jesus makes it very clear that He and Our Father Who art in Heaven made the plan for how we are to love our fellowman. Luke 6:27-28 KJV But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, ²⁸ Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Romans 13:10 KJV Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Now you might be saying but what about that person…look what he or she has done to me? I’m here to say that there’s “NO” buts about it…so don’t even go there…Jesus called us to Love God and to Love One Another. When you are born again and the Holy Spirit comes to live in you, it will lead you into love…because God’s love for humanity is so powerful that He set the standard for love. Jesus told us in John 15:13 KJV Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. So if you’re inclined to walk away from that friend or acquaintance whom you feel only needs you around as a sounding board…give them an ear and a shoulder to lean on. They’re not asking you to lay down your life in the sense of a crucifixion, but they are asking you to take a few moments of your life and give it to them.

Jesus doesn’t say that the greater love is for “things and stuff”… the evidence of the power of His Gospel is how we love one another. It’s not evidenced by how we love to do things, or love to go places, love that fancy car, love our pets, love that movie, love that particular food, love the bottom line of our bank account and investments. Jesus is telling us that a sign of our faith and our proof that we are following Him is how we demonstrate our love for mankind.

When we look at the plants and animals that exist in today’s world, we say “OH! HOW BEAUTIFUL! Can’t you just see God’s hand in it?” YES!!! We can see God’s hand in it, but we must also be aware that the beauty that we do see is tainted and that what we do see isn’t eternal! The only true realization we should have is that we as humans are created in His image and because of Jesus the Messiah – Yeshua Hamashiach (Hebrew), we have been given the chance to live eternally with Him in Glory and we’ll be able to experience creation as he originally planned it – COMPLETE PERFECTION.

Psalm 8:3-8 KJV When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

***God Loves man so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us! See John 3:16

⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

***This was the original plan for man before we fell into sin, but now it refers to the deity of Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth to save us from our sins.

⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:⁷ All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;⁸ The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

***Man was given dominion in the beginning and still has dominion over the earth…but sadly, because of sin, we’re in a relentless course of destruction.

2 Corinthians 4:3-5 KJV But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.⁵ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Matthew 5:46-48 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?⁴⁷ And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?⁴⁸ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

***It’s obvious that because ALL of humanity is made in the Image of God that we are to uphold one another, share with one another, not only the Gospel, but the Love which he so generously poured out on humanity through the gift of His son’s life. We are to share a smile, a kind word, do a charitable deed…not for thanks, but for love. Sincerely cultivate the fruits of the Spirit!

Today, I’m going to mention a couple of things that people claim to love and in future blogs, I’ll touch on a few others…my goal is to give you food for thought.

Now let’s take a look at what that “THING” called a computer or phone has done to our capacity to LOVE one another. I can’t think of a single instance where technology has improved the LOVE quotient of the World. We need to learn to put our phones away and give undivided attention to the people around us. When we go on the internet, we must be aware that we’re all human and although we can’t actually look one another in the eye and that we may not always agree on a subject, but that we need to treat one another with love and respect…don’t dehumanize someone just because they’re sitting at a keyboard and they don’t agree with you. As a society, we’ve gotten to the point that we’ve decided that any attention, whether negative or positive is better than no attention…and sadly, a lot of people will say that they “Love” technology. What a travesty! There’s only so much information that your brain can process and only so much stimulation that will bring you anything but momentary happiness…nothing you get from the internet can actually give you love in return. It’s fleeting and impersonal.

This next subject is likely to make many of you distraught! People say that animals aren’t things…I’m here to tell you that there are people, places and things…yes animals are living things, but they are in no way people, so as a matter of the process of elimination, they are things. They can be a comfort and very enjoyable to have around and when it comes to feeding the world they are very useful and of course should be treated with gentleness and compassion, but I reiterate…they are not people! They are NOT made in the image of God! Jesus pressed the Pharisees and Scribes into a corner when he exhorted and scolded them for rescuing an animal on the Sabbath, but not caring to rescue their fellowman who was suffering on the Sabbath. That’s not to say that Jesus wasn’t okay with them rescuing their animals, he was just trying to put in to perspective that their love for man was waxing cold and their laws were man’s rules not God’s rules. I’ve heard many of you say…your pet is a member of your family and you would do anything for it; you love your pet and you’d even put it first before your fellowman…possibly even your neighbor? I’ve actually heard people say that they “love” animals more than they do people. What a sad testimony in a world that needs love of mankind more than anything else.