This passage pricks my heart and speaks guidance to me in a powerful and personal way. As culture around us tries to manipulate what following Jesus means through the enemy’s work of confusion and conflation, this passage exhorts us to reject moral relativism by presenting us with the standard of God’s morality and the knowledge of him. As we allow ourselves to be corrected and transformed by the faith that leads us to obedience, we will then be able to be self-controlled and sober in the understanding of our own depravity. As we persevere this honing through the work of the Spirit, the godliness that produces love will become readily evident in our lives. This is the way that we can exhibit Love to one another.
God owns love. It is not from an intrinsic human trait. It is not from a philosophical moralistic construct. It is not a commodity that can be acquired and traded. No…love is a gift that is freely given by God. It is available to us through his work on the Cross, and as we submit ourselves to that work of salvation that is the Gospel of Hope, we can then and only then become purveyors of His love to those around us.