In the chapter “Study Love,” from Love or Die: Christ’s Wake-Up Call to the Church Revelation 2:4.  Alexander Strauch writes:

“If you want to pursue love, you must read and study what God says about love in his written Word. You will then grow in the knowledge of love and in the knowledge of God and Christ whom we are to love above all others. Nothing but God’s Word and Spirit can awaken our desire to love and transform our sinfully selfish hearts to love as Christ loves.”¹

There are fifty texts he considers to be key Bible passages on love. I agree so emphatically with him on the vital importance of love in the church, I’m posting one each Sunday, and I may include some verses to provide context or combine or even add a few. Pray, read and study the passage; ask God to transform your heart to know Him and His love and to love others.

You’ll recognized words used by Jesus before he told a famous parable defining neighbor:

“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.’”
Leviticus 19:18

“‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.’”
Leviticus 19:33–34

May God’s mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you in 2012.

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Posts in the series:
1. “Love or Die”
2. “The Sermon On The Name”
3. “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself”

Heart-[foto & Concept by paul b. toman], Plismo: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Barmhartige Samaritaan by Han Wezelaar (The Good Samaritan): Gouwenaar, Public Domain.
¹Alexander Strauch, Love or Die: Christ’s Wake-Up Call to the Church Revelation 2:4 (Lewis & Roth, Littleton CO): 27, 31.

In “The Sermon On The Name” I explain the use of Yahweh rather than LORD.

Original content: Copyright ©2012 Iwana Carpenter