Where Love Comes From

A Thought From a Sister

1/11/1996

I ran across a scripture the other day that has kind of lingered on my mind and I wanted to mention it to you.

“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1Tim. 1:5).

I’ve heard some conversation about the last part of that verse, but the part that stood out to me this time was where love comes from. This verse says basically that love comes from or is the product of three things. One is a pure heart, another is a good conscience and the last thing is a sincere faith. Without those three factors it seems to me that love is not really love. That is why, in 1Cor. 13 when it talks about moving mountains and giving your body to be burned and speaking in tongues of men and of angels, but not having love, then those things mean nothing.

That scripture has always kind of puzzled me. How can you do incredible things like that (like offering your body to be burned) and not love? Maybe my idea of love has some missing parts to it.

Well, the world thinks that they love. “I love my dog, my wife and of course chocolate.” I knew that was shallow, selfish love that profits mostly the person doing the loving. Jesus says through Paul in Timothy that true love can be tested. It is: Do you have a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith? With those things, biblical love will follow which makes “good works” count for something. But it is impossible for a person who doesn’t know Jesus to truly love in that way (with those three things). It takes those things to produce agape (Jesus kind of love). Without those things in place I CANNOT “love,” so I begin to sound like a clanging cymbal or a resounding gong, just a lot of noise. So how can someone (assuming they already know Jesus) add true love into the mix? Work on those three things—a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith!

The things that are mentioned in 1Timothy are up to me. As holiness becomes my life, purity of heart too, becomes part of me—as well as real faith and a good conscience. And my freedom to love is abounding. I learn patience and kindness, while being envious is out of the question, as well as boasting and pride. Jesus says that love never fails... that is a goal worth attaining.

I know there is much more to say about the practical outworkings of what it means to have a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, but this is all I have to say now.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1Cor. 13:13).

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1Jn. 4:7).

...Anyone who does not love remains in death. (1Jn. 3:14).

...you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith (1Tim. 1:18).