1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

Love, what is love? When people speak of love are they all talking about the same thing as the Bible? The love Paul is talking about was exampled by Jesus Christ and is based upon the character of the one doing the love; not the one receiving love. Biblical Love instructs us live in a way that is opposite of the “me first”, “dog eat dog”, kind of love provided by the world. Love as demonstrated by God’s sacrifice on the cross was for His enemies. He forgave those who nailed Him to a cross, took on their sin, paid their penalty, and provided eternal life to those who would receive it. He provided a benefit for all, regardless of how they felt about Him. The love He showed on the cross was given feely and cannot be earned. It was given even to enemies as they tortured and killed the Son of God.

The world’s love is based on feelings; therefore when the feeling dies the love vanishes also. The world will teach that love is earned and can be lost if it is not continually earned. It teaches that you only love those who love you back and that love for someone else should not interfere with self. The world’s love is provided to those who can benefit the one giving love. The problem with the world’s love is that it can be held back and not given to everyone; this creates a lack of lov; a void, which we call hate. The world encourages hate. It laments the effect our lack of love has, while at the same time it poisons our spiritual and physical environments. It is here today and gone tomorrow; a very untrustworthy type of love.

The Goal of our Instruction should make clear the depth of true Biblical love, which produces acts that are beneficial even to those who hate us. Biblical love is based on the character of the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling is us and not on the character of those we are interacting with. Our instruction goes beyond salvation and repentance from sin. It lays aside the question of our being accepted in the brotherhood. Our righteousness is based on the love of the Holy Spirit within us. He causes it to flow out from us. It is not about our improvement, but rather it is about the well-being of those around us. As His seed of love grows and natures, our acts will be acts of other centered love; even for our enemies.