A new commandment I give unto you,

That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.

John 13:34-35

Love is the essential ingredient of life, without love, life  on this planet cannot exist.   We love ourselves, our mates, our children, relatives, the neighbours, the grocer, and our friends at the Temple, Church or Mosque.  Love is everywhere in measure but LOVE isn't purified until the person who loves is willing to "hurt", but why must love sometimes hurt?  It's within the definition of LOVE that we understand that true love is based on righteousness.  Most would rather take a detour before love causes us pain, but we know we can't, so what is love really then?  Most people have some sort of "God Consciousness", whether we believe in and acknowledge YHWH as the Architect Who made all and sustains all.  Some call upon Him as HaShem, or God, or "The Lord", or Allah, or the Divine Presence, or the Higher Power, but most souls have a sense of One who is greater than humankind, One who is the author of Love and who put life as we know it together.  The Torah mentions the FEAR of YHWH as a requirement of Love towards the Most High YHWH.  Certainly the Giver of Life has every right to demand LOVE but the question is, what is the component of love that sometimes hurts?

     Imagine the 14 year old son who comes home after a bad day and says or does something not so pretty, you've also had a hard day, but what do you do?  Do you spar with him?  Nope, because you know there are good and bad days and we don't let bad days mess up the good, we uphold a righteous standard.  We demand LOVE and RESPECT even when it's not so forthcoming, if we don't, it's not likely that we or those who travel this life with us will be appreciated for who they are in Mashiyach.  YHWH DEMANDS love, though it may be difficult to always know the Mind of Mashiyach or the WILL of YHWH, the fact remains that LOVE is the common denominator of LIFE.  By the wisdom of LOVE a Jew, Christian, Moslem, serial killer, drug addict, thief, politician or rapist must all yield or come to eventual defeat or misery.  Love is the champion of life, because Love is based in Truth, and truth always finds it's way to victory.

     It pains and grieves our souls when we see people inflamed with hatred against those whom they've never even met, never welcomed each other into their homes, never enjoyed a meal together, never prayed together, because they've been fed hatred by their choice of religion, or money or politics.

     It grieves the soul when you know of a much better way, we know that if we could apply and demonstrate Love and Justice and work to correct the unfairness in this world, the enemies of Love would grow weary and cease to make war, because they would easily be defeated.  When we explore the depths of LOVE, it's obvious that for the sake of YHWH and His Mashiyach, there is going to be pain in this world, some even pay the ultimate price and ride in coffins at a young age because of their belief in the power of love, others are made public examples and tortured or executed for their choice to uphold the values of Love.

     Two of the most profound examples of LOVE are seen in the lives of Avraham and Sarah.  Their names were originally Avram and Sarai, but they entered into intimate relationship with YHWH.  Instead of Avram "father of Aram", YHWH named him Avraham, the "Father of Nations", instead of "my Princess" Sarah became "Princess to all".  Avraham was an extremely wealthy man, but rather than build himself a showpiece castle, he lived in tents and raised up "trained men" who learned to live and love YHWH.  Avraham and Sarah are the spiritual Father and Mother of all who learn the Love of YHWH, YHWH chose them to be examples for us.  And what amazing examples they really are, they demonstrated love to all, from all nations, not because the promise that nations would came from them but because YHWH revealed Himself to them.  The LOVE OF YHWH was poured into every nation, kindred, tongue and people through Avraham and Sarah.  When we treat a stranger as a brother or sister, this is the LOVE Avraham and Sarah taught towards all souls, this is reflected in their names, which is their calling and destiny.

     It's important to note that Avraham and Sarah had an "H" added to their names, the Hebrew letter "Hai" is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alef-bet, FIVE symbolizes Torah.  Torah is the foundation of Love because it defines love and protects it, all the laws, rulings, charges, judgments, statutes etc of Torah uphold Mashiyach, who epitomizes Love.  Avraham was an "AHAV", a LOVER of YHWH, the Hebrew does not depict a "friend" or acquaintance, but an intimate relationship.  So it is, that if we are LOVERS of YHWH we will also LOVE the souls of the stranger, the sojourner, regardless of their ethnicity or choice of religion.

     Love hurts at times, it's too easy for those who do not know YHWH, to abuse the institution of Love, by offering love and kindness to others you are "threatening" the institution of the carnal or fallen man.  Why would someone be accountable to either Love or Justice if they only know a self serving Love that brings personal Justification?

  True LOVE is unselfish love, sooner or later unselfish love is going to hurt, because LOVE is TRUTH, and TRUTH is perpetually at war with the lies.  The household of Faith doesn't have a choice but to love or make an exit out of the Kingdom of Elohim. YHWH demands LOVE because HE is LOVE.  The arrogance of religion says you can't pray or commune with the "outsider", but can people have different religions and still LOVE the Master?  It's time to learn how to LOVE ...til it hurts.  If you have the strength to love your "enemy", you can be sure that those who reject you will be those of your own religion, it's religion that knows how to hate the enemy and reflect the negative hurt and rejection back to the source from whence they suppose it comes.

     The fact of the matter is that those who hate are in bondage to death.  This is how and why Mashiyach Yeshua is preeminent in all aspects of love and life.  If you knew they were going to kill you, and you loved them anyways, what kind of love is this?  If you knew that you had the power to forgive your murders, knowing also that some would come to realize their hatred is based on self made religious bondage, would you let them take your life?  If you knew that your life would make a better world for many others, could you endure some pain?  Wherever we find ourselves in this world, if we love as Mashiyach, we are going to be rejected.  Love means to live according to righteousness, justice and equality, by demonstrating the Love of Mashiyach we enter into battle.  Why?  Because we uphold Love as more worthy than life itself.  Elohim is Love.  Love came before Life.  The Nature of YHWH is both male and female, we know this because the attributes of YHWH are revealed equally in both genders.  Elohim said, "Let us make man" and we see this picture of creation when husband and wife choose to have children.  Love brings life.

     We all got on this planet because Elohim is LOVE.  Life itself came about because Elohim chose to share His LOVE.  Each of us are created with our unique blue, brown or green eyes, contagious smiles and every component within us is a product of love, even the not so nice things we experience help us appreciate and cherish love.  Mashiyach warns that the love of many will become cold because of Torahlessness, iniquity will abound.  It's remarkable how the corporate, scientific and government worlds have an answer for everything except for love, peace, justice and equality on earth.  Isn't it telling how the mind of the evolutionist is so hell bent on doing away with morality and "conscience"?  Love came before Life, the evolutionist mind cannot grasp the truth of love being dependant upon righteousness.  In other words to have to "suffer" to establish love doesn't fit into the evolutionist  equation, the avoidance of pain and suffering is the overall objective of the evolutionist, of course through intellectualism and philosophy one can make oneself believe the moon is made from Swiss cheese, so rather than love they muse about how the strong survive.

     When looking at Love according to Mashiyach, it's easy to understand how the spirit of man was created to exist eternally, because the spirit of man "in Mashiyach" knows he is given life so he can love, he will not die, because love precedes life itself, love is the substance of Elohim.  The spirit of man that continues in "sin" cannot live, because he he has not known love.  This is basic stuff and we shouldn't make it more complicated than it is, the point is that the more the world shows disdain for love, the more those who love are going to hurt, this is noted in verses like Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

May the Love of Mashiyach Yeshua,

and Father YHWH abide in you always!

Shalom U'Vrachot,

Baruch Ben Daniel