Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows
God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this
the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this
is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son
[to be] the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been
perfected in us.
1 John 4:7-12 NKJV
How do you love? Have you ever really examined yourself to see if
you love the way that God intended and demonstrated towards us? So
many of us simply believe that either you love someone or you don't
and that's all there is to it when God's love is so much more than
that. As you might expect, I had the opportunity to talk about love
with each of my daughters when they grew to a certain age and one of
the first things I tried to explain to them is that love is not a
feeling, but rather a commitment. Now that is certainly different
than the world's perspective so it is important to realize that we
need to examine love from a biblical point of view to completely
understand exactly what God thinks about love.
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
This verse is one of my favorites simply because I think we all know
what God thinks about sin. Yet God loves us so much He put into
place a plan to deal with sin and to allow us the opportunity to
stand in His presense forgiven of all our sin long before we had ever
made the choice. The one thing I can't forget about this verse is
the fact that God made the first move. He didn't wait for us to come
to Him, He loved us enough to put the plan into place before we ever
loved Him. He loved us while we were still sinners and didn't love
Him. If that's not love what is?
We love him, because he first
loved us.
1 John 4:19 NKJV
I think the best teaching on God's love comes from Jesus when He
spoke to the multitudes in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.
"But if you love those who
love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who
love them. "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what
credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "And if you
lend [to those] from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is
that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much
back. "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for
nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be
sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
Luke 6:32-35 NKJV
I want to share with you just a few things I see when I look at this
passage in the hope that it might help you as well to understand this
whole idea of loving as God loves.
God's Love is
different. In this passage
Jesus tells the people that loving with God's love is the one thing
that sets us apart from the world because His love in us allows us to
love others in ways the world could never do. Notice the contrast
Jesus makes between the love that sinners have and the love believers
are expected to demonstrate. Loving those who hate us and doing good
for those who hate us will certainly be noticed because it is the
exact opposite of what the world teaches. Most of us try very hard
to fit in and not be different, but to love as God loves will
certainly make us stand out in the crowd. God's love is very
different from the world's.
No one has seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been
perfected in us.
1 John 4:12 NKJV
God's Love is
unconditional. In the
passage from Luke Jesus goes even further to tell us that we are to not only
love our enemies, but even those who do not love us in return. The
world says love those who love you, and if they don't you have reason
enough to turn your back on them. Can you look at yourself honestly
and say your love for others is not affected by how they love you, or
how they treat you, or how they talk about you? I only have to look
at my relationship with God to see His love is unconditional. How
often I disappoint Him, offend Him, ignore Him, and yet He still
loves me. I have given Him plenty of reasons to turn His back on me
but He never has and never will.
"A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved
you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34 NKJV
God's Love is
fruitful. How often
do we love with the expectation of what we will get in return? That
is certainly the way the world loves, yet Jesus tells us that God's
love gives no thought to what is given in return. In fact, the
passage from Luke tells us to not even hope for anything in return.
The point here is seems to be that what we get from God as a result
of loving others with His love is far more rewarding than what we
might get from the ones we love. Jesus makes the promise that “our
reward will be great” if we love in this way and I think we would
all agree that a reward from God is more to be desired than anything
else we could possibly imagine.
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:22 NKJV
We get to make a lot of choices in this life, but as believers, when
it comes to loving others, it seems the choice is very clear. We
either choose to love God's way or our way. I for one am so very
glad God's love is different and there were no “preconditions”
for Him to choose to love me. I love Him because He loved me long
before I ever knew Him. If you have never told God you love Him, and
have accepted His love and salvation in return I encourage you to do
it today. God has made a way for you to enter into a relationship
with Him by sending His Son to die for your sins. You can respond to
His love for you by praying this simple prayer right now.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my
sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart
and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for
saving me. Amen.
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