Lesson 109. The Habit of Loving

The Lord knows what awaits us and what trials we will encounter. He knows all the designs of the wicked one. He sees what the enemy of the human soul is capable of doing. And the Lord permits us to pass through these trials and to demonstrate in practice to the entire visible and invisible world of spirits what God’s grace accomplishes in the hearts of those who have dedicated themselves to Jesus.

For the sake of His chosen children, the Lord God Himself has come to take part in this battle and to overcome. Prophecy describes the battle of the last days as the Lord’s war, which He wages and in which He defeats the adversary. We read in Revelation 17:14: ‘These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.’ Then Revelation 19:15 says: ‘And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.’

This is God’s war, which we will not see in its fullness. The kings of the earth are earthly powers which, under the influence of evil spirits, will enact laws for the destruction of all people who do not worship the beast and his image.

Any secular decree directed against God would look rather foolish in the eyes of an atheistic society, and apostate Protestantism would also consider such laws madness. But the essence of the conflict will be that those who rise up in battle against the Almighty, while calling themselves His children, will think that by punishing those who do not receive the mark of the beast they are serving God and defending His dishonored name.

The mark of the beast itself and his image will be presented to the world as God’s command, which must be obeyed in order not to bring the Lord’s judgments upon oneself.

God pours out His judgments to draw people’s attention to His law and to salvation in Jesus, but Satan distorts these actions of God and presents them as punishment upon those who do not receive the mark of the beast. The enemy claims that the whole world is suffering because of these believers. This approach will arouse indescribable fury against those who are declared guilty.

I will give an example. In the army there is always tension between soldiers and officers. But officers possess authority and can give orders. In order to torment the soldiers, they sometimes arrange foolish tests that the personnel take seriously. If they simply say that today you will make a forced march instead of resting, everyone will be indignant, and the commanders will have problems. But if they set an impossible condition in advance—for example, that everyone must form ranks within one minute—and present it in such a way that you will lose your rest because of the person who violates it, there will be no complaints against the officers; instead, all the soldiers’ anger will fall upon those who were late to form ranks.

Something similar will happen in the last days. Sin must be punished, and human wickedness will provoke God’s wrath, but Satan will point to those who are faithful to the Lord as the source of everything that is happening. We know similar examples from history, when God’s children perished simply because they chose love and faithfulness to God and lived according to that choice. The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre is a vivid example.

In essence, this is Satan’s conflict against God. Although in the Middle Ages the dragon had power to destroy, kill, and conquer, in the final battle of our time he and his allies are presented as defeated. Satan knows the outcome and trembles, yet he is preparing for battle in order, if possible, to destroy even the elect.

But the Lord is preparing His people. His desire is for these people to awaken, shake off the enchantments of this world, and learn to rely completely upon God in their daily battles, fleeing to Him and heeding His counsel in every detail of life. Love is the best means for enabling the soul to understand God’s will and put it into practice. It is the motivation that does not weary the soul but, like a sail spread wide, carries my vessel across the waters of this world and brings me where I ought to be. My task is to keep this sail of love open and to know where I am sailing and what plans God has for me.

The small trials I experience today teach me to trust the Lord in every detail and to ask Him for strength for my small victories. I am becoming accustomed to living in love toward people, seeing in this the joy and meaning of my existence. In this way I gladden God’s heart, showing Him my love through obedience to the truth.

And these small achievements prepare me for the great battles and victories I will have to experience in the near future. If it should happen that my death prevents me from living until that time, I will still appear as a victor in the eyes of Heaven.

Love is given to me now so that through this gift I may allow the Holy Spirit to unite my humanity with the Divine and may give Jesus authority in my heart. It is precisely there that the final battle will take place. It is precisely there that the ultimate victory over this world and Satan will be accomplished. It is precisely there that all the kings of the earth will suffer their final defeat. And the reason for my victory will be my habit of loving my neighbor and my Lord Jesus, and of asking God to protect me and fight the battles as I grow. Such love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, cultivated not by me but by God within me.

The enemy of souls seeks an opportunity to deprive me of love—this connection with God—and he does not object if I afterward perform my good deeds. He knows that if I have no love, it will not be difficult for him to use my deeds to advertise the works of darkness. ‘Look, everyone! You can do good without God!’

Let us recall the truth that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil contains an element of good which, without God, kills the person who eats its forbidden fruit. Performing good deeds without God is like eating the forbidden fruit with a smile and merriment, showing everyone one’s cheerfulness and the beauty of one’s actions. At times I pluck this fruit and, before eating it, offer a prayer of thanksgiving and then joyfully partake of this food.

For example, a sister fell into depression because of loneliness, and a brother in the faith decided to help her escape this anguish by leaving his family in order to save her soul. They prayed for God’s love toward one another and bestowed it in caresses, rejoicing in and delighting in their new experiences. Then they decided that they had been made for each other. They married, asking God’s blessing upon this undertaking as well. Was it a good deed? In the eyes of these people, perhaps the answer is yes, and Hollywood might even make a film about it and call it ‘True Love.’ But this is fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It brings death to the soul.

Love without faithfulness to God and to the person toward whom one has obligations is not love but the lust of the flesh. Thoughts and feelings are not yet deeds, but they form the character. If the principal motive of my thoughts and feelings is love, it will be reflected in all my deeds and will make every action of mine right in the eyes of God.

I heard a story about a little boy who, after learning to write, decided to record his genuine feelings of love for his father by writing about them to him. So that everyone could see and read them, he chose a nail and his father’s new car. The son’s love had the right motive, but it resulted in a bad deed. And God is now teaching me to perform right actions with the right motive.

1. What did you understand from this lesson?

2. Against whom is the world fighting when it accuses me?

3. Who will triumph in this spiritual war? Why has the victory already been foretold?

4. How can I determine whose side I am on?

5. Where can I learn the enemy’s strategy so that I may repel his attacks?

6. Does God’s love in my heart give me victory? If so, what does this look like?

7. Please read 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:10; and 1 John 4:4 in the light of our lesson.