RESTRICTIONS OF LOVE
by Edward Miller

There are restrictions in love. Love demands more than the law, but love's restrictions are not burdensome.
Many divorces are the consequence of the absence of love. Problems can be faced if the anoint of love is present but without that anoint, the squeaking from the machine of life is striding.
In John 15:12 we read: My commandment is this: love one another just as I love you. If you want to know how great is the "just" quoted in this verse take a rod to measure and go to the cavalry; then measure his love is you can.
There had been many conquerors in the world. Men that were promoted with great recognition and that were exalted for a brief moment.
I have read something about the history of the Chinese people, about their empires and kingdoms, their many massacres and about their power.
The world knows pretty well what horrors were lived with the Nazis.
Yes, the conquerors are and have been cruel and evil in their majority.
Jesus Christ also came to conquer this world; the power He used was love. He came to win the world; He knew that in the highest councils of wisdom love is the most powerful thing. The power of love doesn't bring destruction; not like the power used by the conquerors of this earth.
Jesus gave through a new light on the concept of the world's conquest and He also preached it. One man, Mahatma Gandhi, was inspired by this concept even though he wasn't much of a believer according to our manner of thinking. He said: "yes, the world can be conquered without force." He didn't conquer the world but he set India free.
We read in the first Epistle of John that God is love; God is life and God is light.

Love, life and light are steps to the Kingdom of God. Think of this mysterious thing called love yet unending in its magnitude; of the mysterious thing called light which escapes our understanding and life which the scientist greatly defame by their comprehension. Love, light and love represent what God is. Jesus tells us: This is my commandment: love one another just as I love you. Yes, He said these words to his disciples; not to the multitude but to the church.
This is the only way the Kingdom of God is going to establish itself in our midst when this commandment is accomplished. When the love of God begins to be part of us we become aware of this restriction. It will be like a chain about our necks that says we can't go here or there, that says we can't do this or that.
Yes, we are free. Well, free of what? Free of restriction? Free of justice? Free of the truth? Free of love? Free of... I'm not obliged to obey! Is this our freedom?
The kingdom of God begins to manifest itself when we allow the sprouts of love <<to embrace us tightly,>> when we are conscious of the fact that we have to obey God and that we have to bless him and that we have to love him. It isn't a question of wanting or not. Please understand that we shall not be obeying a law; we would be applying love. Otherwise, what we do won't be in the name of love.
God chose to conquer the world through love. What happened? Jesus, the instrument of love was crucified.
There exists a kingdom of darkness opposed to the kingdom of light and in it we can also highlight three fundamental things: darkness, death and hatred. When we are opened to one of them, we become part of that kingdom.
We, the church of God, must be different. If we are born of God, of the Holy Spirit, love must be within ourselves.
What is this river we have spoken and seen flow during these months? It's the love of God flowing through the Holy Spirit, nothing more, nothing less.
Can one enjoy the blessing that this river brings and not feel the shackles of love in our lives? If it isn't like this, then it would be an insult to God, a mockery. If I love him, I will obey his commandments. How well the word then highlights the order of God! If I love, then I will obey his commandments.
If you believe that you can be free like the world and belong to the church at the same time, obviously you don't love God. You don't belong to the Kingdom of God. You have to be ready to sacrifice your life and the cost has to be irrelevant, otherwise you are cheating.
We must understand that Christ is King. We are not going to make him King; we are not going to crown him. He's King! His Father made him King; King over everything, even his enemies. He's glorious and very powerful. But thanks that He's also a King of love, otherwise poor you and poor me.
Up to what point does God's patience reach?
I know that in the time of Noe his patience with humanity ended and that the population was also terminated but my objective today is to meditate on the love of God that's binding. Not fright... not punishment, but on the love that binds us.
In the book of Romans chapter 5 says that the love of God is shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. If I have the Holy Spirit, if I have the joy then He's shedding his love on me so that I can start practicing the other life He offers me.
If there is a new creation in us and we are born of the Holy Spirit, of the Spirit of love, then we belong to his Kingdom; born to carry out his commandments.
Paul wrote in Romans that we don't need the law if His love binds us.
We have said that there's a Kingdom and there's a King. I love that King; my heart is his and He can ask of me whatever He wants. Do you love him? Where are the bonds? Where are the demands?
There are responsibilities because there is also a Cross. He knows about handcuffs; He knows about chains; he carried them like a lamb going to his slaughter. They crucified him because He loved us! That's love. I have told you about this before: I worked on a small farm when I was young. I made many errors on that farm. What difference did it make? No one saw them. The following day when I surrendered my life at His feet, I said: You're my King from now on. I went to work as it was my practice, I was plowing, and the line wasn't straight as it should had been. Part of the land remained without plowing. Inside of me I felt, this is not plowing! Apparently it wasn't important because no one would see it. This is not plowed! the Spirit insisted. I had to go back over what I did and do the work correctly. I remember another occasion and how stupid I felt when I was planting cucumber seeds. I was told to put seven seeds in each place. I thought it was easier to put an approximate handful of seeds instead of seven seeds. I thought I had finished the work. It was then when I heard his correction: "seven! What difference did it make? They'd grow anyway. That's what I thought. Seven! was the order. Once again, I was called to attention. I had to return like a fool, remove everything and put seven seeds in each place.
Yes, He's King. I love this King. And for love I can do as He asks. God comes to seek and conquer our hearts; the world's heart, not with force nor with a whip... but with love.
He loves us so, up to the Cross! Love is stronger than hatred. Life is stronger than death; light is stronger than darkness. Jesus, with the love of God, and for the love of his Father, came to conquer this world. He came to conquer you and to conquer me.

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