Love is The Better Way - Testimony

A simple testimony of how Love is a powerful weapon, we think it is weak so we never embrace it, but the Language of Love scares away evil and is a powerful weapon in the Kingdom of God.

The Better Way : Names have been changed.

When I was working in a church office in Mumbai, we used to come back late nights after the night Bible College classes we attended.  I was often overtired.  One day as I was in the train in Mumbai on my way home, with a group of girls, suddenly one a young lady from the Bible College, *Mira,  looked at the other girls and said with a cold hardness in her voice, "You people are a clique, you care nothing for no one else but yourselves.  You clique club people in the Bible college!"

Most of the girls were silent and looked the other way.  I was shocked into silence for a minute and then took a deep breath and prayed silently.  After a while, I suddenly saw the situation through different eyes. I did not see a hard, cold angry woman with the wind whipping her tongue.  Instead she saw a sad, lonely young woman, who felt lonely and sad.  In that moment, I calmed down and started talking to Mira.  I was able to talk with her and by the end of the train ride, I felt I had a friend in Mira.

Over the ensuing weeks, *Mira called me out to a restaurant after work and I mentioned to her that some of us in the Bible College are going on a trip to Darjeeling and Kalimpong.  When* Mira heard the word Kalimpong, she jumped right up in surprise and then said slowly.  "I have a younger sister, but she eloped with a young man and married him as my father was angry with the young man, so she had to run away.  I heard she went to Kalimpong.  However, my father had told her never to come back to the house, so we lost touch of her.  We do not know where she is, only that she is in Kalimpong.  Now, my father is very ill now and he really wants to meet her, but we now don’t know how to get in touch with her.  Mira*  told Rina her sister's name was *Shanti D'Souza.  Well, it would be a needle in a haystack to find her, I thought.

A week later, I  went for that long trip to Darjeeling.  When we went to Kalimpong, I stayed with my mother who was at that time staying on the school campus in Dr. Graham's Homes in Kalimpong.  That night, I happened to mention about *Mira to my mother, mentioning she was looking for her sister *Shanti D'Souza.

The next day my mother casually mentioned the name of *Shanti D'Souza to the warden of the boarding school.  The warden of the boarding school, Ms. *Ruth jumped up and said that a girl by that name was related to her by marriage.  In the evening, a young man came to the school campus saying he was the husband of *Shanti D'Souza and Shanti would like to meet me.   So, he took me and my mother to his house on the hilltop and as I met *Shanti and told her about *Mira, it was indeed Mira's long list sister found again!

In time, the family was reunited.  *Shanti came to Mumbai and met her father who was delighted to see his daughter again and welcomed his son-in-law to the family as well.

I learned a powerful lesson from this.  If I had retaliated to *Mira's anger at us at that time, this wonderful miraculous reunion would have never taken place.

Another thought:  Though we may be in Bible college or in service in a ministry, we may become insensitive to the real needs of people because we already think we are in a spiritual plane above everyone, which is very untrue.  We could become very low and base-minded in such places if we are not careful because of the trap of spiritual pride and arrogance and comfort zone that we reach.

The Language of Retaliation and The Language of Love

These are  two opposite forces.  We often feel The Language of Retaliation is more powerful.  Many times, in the natural sphere, it seems to work better!

Satan and demons can never understand the language of Love because it is the language of God.  It is a deep mystery to the evil powers and it pronounces a dreadful calamity of judgment and defeat to them.

The ancient Greeks came up with the four different kinds of love:  Eros, storge, agape and philia.

Eros love is a passionate and intense love that arouses romantic feelings.

Storge love is a kind of family and friendship love, which is also a parent-child love.

Phileo love refers to an affectionate, warm platonic love, which constitutes friendships.

Agape love is an unconditional love that sees beyond the outer surface and accepts the person for whom he/she is, regardless of their flaws.  God's love is Agape love, the highest form of love.  Jesus always spoke of Love as the greatest commandment of all in this life.

The way of Love is the Way of the Christian Life.  The pathway of the purest Love can be found through only the Heart of God.

Love can never be borne through the natural man, because in himself or herself, nothing good dwells.  Romans 7:18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Only can the spiritual man love with agape love, this is unconditional love and there is only One who can really love with unconditional love, God.  When we really know and walk with God in the spirit man, God pours out this love fresh and overflowing in our hearts so we can impart this divine love to one another and the world.

In the face of this love, demons flee and man becomes free.  Free from the burden of hatred, revenge, envy, rage, bitterness, malice and the whole hosts of diabolic concoctions that rise out of a hate-ridden soul.  The power of love is not weak but strong, but the demons would like the people to believe love is a weak man's portion is this life.  So we never rise out of the ashes with the Love of God to pour out on each other and lavish the world with.  We are indeed losers without the power of love to reside within us to rise up in strength in timely moments.

I Corinthians 13:1-13 expounds love so beautifully and we can never really get enough of it or understand it in its depths.  How many times we fail this test of love?

Christianity in this day and age lacks love the greatest.  People simply don’t have the time or patience or even try to forgive each other, let alone love each other.

I Corinthians 13:1-13 may need to be read everyday and we need to ask the Holy Spirit to shed abroad this supernatural love in our hearts:  May our hearts be washed and renewed daily with this love.  One prayer that God always hears is when we pray for love to be enabled between one another.

We Cannot Love in the Energy of Our Flesh

With all good intentions of the heart, we may set out to obey the law of love, but in time it is impossible and we may receive serious setbacks, people taking advantage of that kindness displayed and people even bullying and mean and rancorous to a soul wanting to display love.

This is a testimony of a lady who discovered that love in the energy of the flesh cannot be practiced without the empowering of God Himself.  God is love and His love is supernatural, and our human love is natural and limited and can come under attack.  The only way to love supernaturally is to pray and love, never without prayer because that is our own effort.  Even good intentions are wood, hay and stubble.

When We Walk in the Law of Love We Will See Miracles Happen

Let me recount a wonderful testimony of obedience to Love.

A famous incident which many may have heard is about Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian, who helped save hundreds of Jewish lives during the Holocaust.   After the war, Corrie Ten Boom went to the United States and from there she often traveled to different countries, sharing her experiences and the Love of God for all.  In the Heroine of Harlem , "Corrie knew millions of surviving Germans carried that guilt.  No one needed Jesus more.  Once after Corrie talked in a church, the people got up silently, as they always did in Germany, and filed out. But working against the flow was a man coming towards Corrie.  He looked familiar.

No! She wanted to scream.  The man stopped in front of her, smiling.  "What a fine message, Frau ten Boom.  I'm so glad to hear our sins are forgiven."  This very man was at Ravensbruck!  He was one of the guards who watched coldly as Corrie and Betsie filed past, naked and degraded.  She remembered him distinctly.  Corrie could not speak.  She pretended to be preoccupied.  Would he never go away?  The man went on confidently, "You mentioned you were in Ravensbruck.  You won't believe this, but I was a guard at Ravensbruck. However, after the war, I became a Christian.  God forgave me.  Will you forgive me?"  He extended his weathered hairy hand.  It was as repulsive as a snake.

Oh, how hard it is to be in Christ a times like this, though Corrie.  She had a thousand reasons to hate this evil man.  Poor sweet Betsie.  But Betsie would have been the first to forgive him.  Corrie had to forgive him.  Or God would not forgive her.  It was perfectly clear in the Bible.  Corrie looked at the man's repulsive hand.  Forgiveness was not an emotion one indulged.  It was the will of God.

She extended her hand, "I forgive you."

Warmth flooded over her.  It was intense.  She felt herself glow with love.  But it was not her love.  She was powerless.  It was God's love just as Paul wrote in the fifth chapter of Romans

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Love is Spiritual Warfare and Satan Cannot Understand the Language of Love

Love is a mystery to the Kingdom of Darkness.  The Cross, the symbol of God's love for the world is a mystery to Lucifer. Demons can only operate where there is discord so he especially works to create discord between people so he can function better.  To the natural human mind, the Cross symbolizes defeat and weakness.

We need to ask for this supernatural Love daily, it is not a onetime thing.  We need to clothe ourselves in love, shed abroad.  God will always answer us when we pray for love between ourselves and a difficult person.

Love is the sum of all commandments.  It is a secret way of life, a highway of holiness to live in love is to live in power and victory.  To live in hatred and revenge takes us to the baser and meaner operations of life where demons reside, the slimy, slippery pathways where they reside and gleefully have power and control over us.  Eventually that end is eternal separation from God, who is Love.

In this Highway, no evil can touch us because we are walking in such high places that it cannot reach us!

Rita Farhat Kurian
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