I John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
“God is Love”… That’s a very bold statement for the Bible to make. To state that God is not just a great picture of love, or that He displayed the greatest act of love, but that He IS the very definition of love itself… it ought to change our thinking about love.
Because if God is love, then no-one has the ability to love apart from Him and being made in His image. Without Him, there is no such thing as love, so we are only able to love as a reflection of His character.
Have you ever struggled to love… God’s way? While God has called us to a life of love, our ability to love is not based upon our ability to simply choose it. That would put the weight of responsibility squarely upon our shoulders, which is impossible.
We are only able to love completely as we depend upon the grace of God, and then demonstrate to others through the power of His Spirit that very love that He has first demonstrated to us. (I John 4:12-13)
NOTICE THE GREAT LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU…
(Seriously, take the time to read and ponder these verses, even if they’re familiar to you)
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9,13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If you haven’t yet received God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life through salvation, I would encourage you to be saved today! (If you have questions about salvation that I can help with, please let me know.)
I John 4:9-10, 12 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins…. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Once we know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we have the promise of the love of God at work in us and through us to others around us.
Notice what kind of love this is that God has for you and gives to you through the person of Jesus:
- A Sacrificial Love: Love at any cost – John 3:16
- An Unconditional Love: Love that is undeserved – Romans 5:8, I John 4:19
- An Eternal Love: Love that never ends – Jeremiah 31:3
- A Powerful Love: Love that cannot be changed – Romans 8:38-39
When we consider the great nature of God’s love demonstrated through Christ for us, can we honestly say that our love towards our family members mirrors such love?
REALITY CHECK…
Are we willing to:
- love at any cost?
- love when it isn’t deserved?
- love without any strings attached?
- love when it’s not reciprocated?
- love without any hint of ever holding it back, no matter what?
How well are our gestures demonstrating such love?… what about our responses to mistakes?… our tone of voice?… our actions? Is the love of God that is at work in us actually reaching out on to the other side of our skin for our family to see?
Our natural tendency is to try and love on our own terms. But love in its truest form is only a love patterned after the definition of love itself – God. “God. Is. Love.” And we can’t do it without His help.
This is deep, but so true – We can only love our family the way God loves us when we love our family the way God loves us. (I warned you it was deep 😃 ) But are we?
God, our Heavenly Father, has set the perfect example for us in how He loves us, His children. And in it, a perfect example of how we are to love our children as well.
How are you doing at sharing the love… by loving your family the way God loves you?
I John 4:11 If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
