Love: The Highest Form of Intelligence and Growth

Love is more than just a feeling—it's a gateway to higher intelligence. When we practice love, we cultivate emotional and spiritual growth. In contrast, hatred drags us into a state of ignorance and self-destruction.

But what exactly is "hate"? Leviticus 19:17 gives us insight: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him." In simple terms, hate involves standing by while others harm themselves—mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

When you hate, you allow others to continue destructive behaviors without offering help or guidance. Instead of encouraging growth or positive change, you let someone deteriorate in their unhealthy thoughts and actions. This inaction is a form of neglect, even spiritual harm.

The Bible teaches that "the strength of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56). The religious laws of Moses represented a rigid code of conduct, which—if misinterpreted—could lead to self-condemnation and judgment. Galatians 3:11 reminds us, "No man is justified by the law in the sight of God." Thus, hate can manifest as allowing others to suffer under outdated or unhealthy mental and emotional "laws" they've created for themselves, or follow within the religious world.

When you allow someone to continue on a destructive path, you’re essentially letting them destroy their own self-worth and spiritual health. This is the ultimate form of hatred—not helping them break free from their self-imposed limitations.

In contrast, love is about building up and supporting others. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:9, "Ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." This is reinforced in 1 Thessalonians 5:11: "Comfort yourselves together, and edify one another."

To love someone is to lift them up, edify their mind, and help them recognize their true value. Love is the act of showing others the path away from self-destruction and toward self-discovery.

When we love, we challenge ourselves to grow by helping others. We increase in personal understanding, discipline, and wisdom. Love forces us to confront our own emotions and experiences, making us more effective in uplifting others.

Loving others isn’t just about them—it’s also about your own growth. As you empathize and help others through their struggles, you deepen your own understanding of life's challenges and how to overcome them. Love is a reminder of where we've been and where we're going.

When you love, you're practicing self-awareness and emotional intelligence. You're making conscious decisions that enhance both your life and the lives of those around you. Love leads to understanding and unity, while hate results in division and loss.

True love doesn't come with expectations or fears. When we love authentically, we enrich our own lives and contribute positively to the world around us. Love leads to clarity of purpose, while hate clouds judgment and leads to misunderstanding.

In the end, the message is simple: just love. Love leads to personal growth, deeper understanding, and a positive influence on those around us. It helps you erase negative patterns and replace them with wisdom. Love is the ultimate key to unlocking your true potential and helping others do the same.

If you're seeking clarity, peace, and purpose, start with love. By doing so, you'll gain personal and devotional growth that not only enhances your life, but also the lives of everyone you encounter.

The True Voice of Faith: The Bible's Wisdom Beyond Theology

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, yet walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” - Isaiah 50:10.

Have you ever pondered what it means to truly hear the “voice” of the living God? The Bible challenges us to go beyond superficial understandings and to plunge into its deeper essence—a journey not just of listening, but of discerning and acting upon the “voice” at the center of the Bible. Yet, it’s crucial to notice that the Bible does not encourage us to worship some ideal connected to it. Instead, it calls us to trust in the wisdom and philosophy of its “voice,” which “voice” is synonymous with the “name” of the living God.

The Bible separates its philosophy from the religious world’s theology. It doesn’t ask us to idolize or blindly follow a figure; rather, it emphasizes valuing the speech—the doctrine—of that servant. This distinction is key: this servant’s wisdom, not their person, holds the transformative power. In 1 Corinthians 4:6, it’s written, “Learn in us not to think of men above that which is written.” Similarly, John 15:20 states, “The servant is not greater than his lord.” These verses make it clear that the voice and not the servant or minister is to be prioritized, guiding us to treasure the Bible’s words rather than elevate an individual.

To truly follow the Bible’s guidance, our faith must recognize this “voice”—a voice rooted in wisdom and spiritual understanding, as stated in Colossians 1:9: “The knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” This voice isn’t about leading our belief to blessings; instead, it’s about letting our belief guide us into receiving the blessing. When aligned with this voice, our belief, and even our disbelief, becomes a powerful instrument of edification.

Our responsibility to edify one another is found in Mark 12:31: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Yet, true edification begins within. We cannot effectively love or edify others if our understanding is not first nurtured and guided by this voice. Luke 6:41 asks, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” Our ability to help others hinges on our own spiritual clarity and self-awareness.

Faith is more than just a spiritual connection; it is a dynamic force meant to express our unique capacity to edify. According to 1 Corinthians 14:10-11, there are countless voices in the world, each with significance. Understanding the “meaning of the voice” within the Bible is crucial, as it transforms us from being mere speakers to being true edifiers, fostering growth in ourselves and others.

Our faith exists not just to affirm a belief but to manifest a distinct capability to “love”—to build up and strengthen. This potential becomes reality through a disciplined engagement with the voice at the heart of the scriptures. As noted in 1 Timothy 1:5, “The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” This process of faith’s refinement and growth is what enables us to fulfill our highest potential in both personal and communal contexts.

We must ask ourselves: Are we truly edifying according to the Bible’s standard? If not, what voice is guiding our actions? Recognizing and embracing the Bible’s voice, and especially the voice transferred to us from the living God’s chief apostle, allows our faith to flourish and guides us toward our greatest personal and spiritual potential. It’s a call to humble ourselves for the sake of our faith’s higher learning, ensuring that our faith is rooted not in surface-level beliefs, but in the useful knowledge of the Bible’s wisdom.

Faith is not static; it has a character that must be discovered and nurtured. It holds thoughts, feelings, and a distinct purpose that can only be fully realized through an intimate understanding of the living God’s voice. This journey is about more than acquiring knowledge; it’s about embodying the Bible’s fact, moving beyond the superficial learning cautioned in 2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Your faith has a voice that it needs to hear and respond to—a voice that guides it toward edification and purpose, which voice Isaiah 42:4 emphasizes: “The isles shall wait for his law.” It’s our responsibility to ensure that our belief is guided by this understanding, allowing it to develop into its fullest expression to fulfill its purpose. Take the time to cultivate this understanding, for it is in this voice that the true essence of your faith and its capacity to bless others will be realized.

The Liberating Power of Lovingkindness

"O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart," Psalm 36:10.

If it is that we do not know what the Bible’s "righteousness" is, we may now know, according to this psalm, that it is its "lovingkindness." "Lovingkindness" is, in the Bible, another term for "righteousness," even as it says, "I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness," Hosea 2:19, and, "I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart…I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation," Psalm 40:10.

What then is "the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man"? Titus 3:4.

The Bible’s “righteousness” is for the spirit of our conversation's mind, in that it would have our conversation "perfect, as pertaining to the conscience," Hebrews 9:9. What is according to the conscience is without external or outward manipulation, which is why it says, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation," Luke 17:20. What is with "observation" is with religious deeds and labors, and if "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," John 3:6, and if our mind is "to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man," Ephesians 3:16, and if "wisdom strengtheneth," Ecclesiastes 7:19, then the Bible’s salvation is a kindness mainly occurring within the mind.

We learn this fact from how it says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come," Galatians 3:13,14

"The kingdom of God" is herein understood to be no literal or tangible kingdom, but rather a spiritual procedure to recover the organs of our devotional conversation. Because "God is a Spirit," John 4:24, and because "a spirit hath not flesh and bones," Luke 24:39, this goal cannot be achieved by ay deed or act. If we think that it should, we should question whether or not what is invisible ought to care for what is physical.

A reality without the religious law dominating the conversation's conscience is preached to us through the crucifixion. A transaction occurred on the tree, where one manner of "life" was abolished and where another manner of "life" took the place of that abolished "life." "Life," to the Bible, is a term denoting one’s personal devotional conversation. Through the tree, one type of religious conversation was blotted out while another replaced it, and we know what replaced that "old" religious form from how it says, "He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham," Hebrews 2:16. 

In the Bible, the word "angel" is used to denote a minister or messenger of the scriptures. If the living God's chief apostle took on the "nature" or the "seed" of Abraham, and if this man Abraham received his blessing not "through the law, but through the righteousness of faith," Romans 4:13, it is then evident that the "nature" or the "seed" of the angel is contrary to this position.

The "angel" is a minister demanding that "righteousness come by the law," Galatians 2:21, while the "nature" of Abraham states, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," Romans 10:4. The issue at hand is how the word "righteousness" is defined: to the "angel," righteousness is but the appearance of sanctity through religious deeds and laws; to the Bible, “righteousness” is alleviation and continual growth and development of the heart and mind.

But there is an issue. If we would have the Bible’s lovingkindness, and if we would continually advance in its manner of righteousness, we must know its devotional character. This is why it says, "O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart," Psalm 36:10.

Our mind is to become a free canvas for the impression of the Bible’s devotional character. Its impression is not to be our impression. Its impression is not to be the impression of a political religious tradition. When once the mind is willing to stand alone, the mind can then experience its words for knowledge to live by, which is why it says, "Through knowledge shall the just be delivered," Proverbs 11:9. 

Our conversation's conscience is to be delivered from some thing, and "having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances," Ephesians 2:15, we may know that our faith's mind is to quit "the handwriting of ordinances," Colossians 2:14, of whatever Moses should preach, "You are justified by the law," Galatians 5:4. This is how we begin to have a right mind to live by.

What is preached through the illustration of the crucifixion is liberty of mind from the box of a political faith for the mind’s personal devotional growth and development. This life, according to the wisdom within the Bible, is absolutely too short for us to spend it in the box of personal and religious policies. Self-cultivated and inherited ethics limit who we are, and when who we are is limited, the things and people around us suffer. They suffer because we, by our philosophy, care to limit every thing and every one else.

The Bible’s counsel for our conversation’s conscience is the means whereby our heart’s mind is liberated to not only soberly love self, but to also know and love every word that has ever come out of its mouth. This is why it says, “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him,” 1 John 2:3,4.