Anyone who has read any posting from me lately knows that God has been teaching me on love. Over the past couple days He has been sharing about love with a new understanding. As we grow in Christ was pass through growing seasons of love. The first is love by commandment; the commandment from Jesus to love one another. We love to please our Lord Jesus by obeying. The second is produced love – love grown in us by the Holy Spirit; the fruit of love. The third is our creation into the likeness of God; God’s pure love flowing through us uninterrupted by the flesh; as God is love we become love – being love not doing love. Speak of the three ways of love as the three realms; which is the earthly realm, the overlapping realm, and the heavenly realm. If it helps, think of the realms as the outer tabernacle, the inner tabernacle, and the Holy of Holies; or the outer appearance, the inward man, and the heart where God dwells.

We can look at the ways of loving as our ways of giving. At first we give to obey; after all it is better to give than to receive. The second way is giving as we receive (learning to receive is its own lesson to be learned). In both of those ways of giving, the flow is interrupted by the flesh – the flesh is a gate and a gage (a measuring of our giving). The first is giving as we are directed by men to give. The second way is giving as directed by God, entering the earth by way of our physical gate. The third way of giving is a living flow, uninterrupted. Jesus said, “… love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven …” (Matthew 5:44b-45a). That love is an uninterrupted love. That love is a “like Father, like son” love, coming from the new creature created in the likeness of the Creator.

Jesus is the new tabernacle, and we are on a quest to be Christ like. Jesus lived in the heavenly, came to the earthly, walked in the overlapping, and returned to the heavenly (No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven (John 3:13)). As we journey into the Christ we pass through the outer, the inner, and into the open Holy of Holies. In the outer court, we are commanded to love one another, as directed by Jesus when He was a man walking on the earth. In the inner court we love out of the seed baring plant (Jesus planted in the earth for us; the Holy Spirit here) producing love in us. In the Holy of Holies, we love because we are love.

We are on a journey, led by God. Where we are in our journey is not our choice. This is how the Spirit explained it to me. Where I travel in the earth is not the same as where I travel in the spiritual realm. God is leading the journey in both realms. As I journey closer to the Holy of Holies in the spiritual realm, I am sent out deeper into the darkness in the earthly realm. Without the journey into the spiritual light, and becoming more and more of the light, I am not ready to journey into the dark places and show the love of God in the darkness. Without the light the darkness would consume me; but God’s light will consume the darkness. God’s love is a fire; that fire is light producing as it consumes the darkness. The love of God is a producing love; as everything that is not love is consumed, light is produced. As the Lord leads, the journey into darkness is well lit.

We are not to judge one another according to the realm one is in. We are to love one another, and lift one another up, speaking the truth in love. As we grow in the Christ, we grow in our understanding of the service God has called us to. A child does not know how to be servant; a child has to be served and cared for. We are children of God, and He cares for us. The elders are servants to the babes in Christ and to the young in Christ. Those who have learned to love are caregivers to those who are learning. Those who walk in love help those who are still stumbling and falling. You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head (Psalm 3:3). We are on a journey to be Christ like; like the One who lifts up my head. The king of Kings serves me and lifts up my head – He gives me a drink from the fountain – He died to produce Himself in me.

© 2010, Tim D. Coulter Sr.