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[0:00] 28th of March, healthy and growing and full of love. Our passage for today is Ephesians 4, 16, so that the whole body, the church, is healthy and growing and full of love.

[0:12] The language in which the New Testament was originally written had many words which are translated love in our English Bibles. But there is one word for love that became a real Christian word and is one of the busiest words in the New Testament.

[0:26] It is used in the text at the top of this page. The word akkope is a word describing how God looks at the world. For example, John 3, 16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

[0:47] Galatians 2, 20 tells us how Christ lived and died. And John 15, 12 tells us how Christians should live as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is also a word that has to do with how the church of Jesus Christ goes about its business.

[1:04] If the church we belong to is healthy and growing, it will be a church that is full of this love. The word is special because it involves our heart but also our mind and our will.

[1:17] As Christians we are commanded to love our enemies and to seek the highest good of everyone, even those who may not be good to us. Such love is a God-like love and a God-given love.

[1:29] It must be seen in a Christian family and it is the very lifeblood of the church, the family of God. It is how Jesus has loved us and the Holy Spirit helps us to be like him so that we will be a healthy church, growing and full of love.

[1:44]  Our prayer for today, Lord Jesus, help me to be full of your love. Amen.