Let’s start a discussion about Love. Love is a hot topic, right? There are obviously all different kinds of love… “I love my spouse, I love my cat, I love pizza, I love my computer, I love my boyfriend, I love beer, I love to party, I love… I love…I love…etc.” But C’mon, you’re at PERSEVERE and we’re going to talk about the love of God. But first, what is the greatest commandment? Not the Golden Rule, but the thing Jesus told us was most important. I’m pretty sure He told us to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, with all of our minds, and with all of our strength. But here’s the question… How can we be sure we love God with “all of our being?”
For the answer we’ll go to the source – the Bible. The Bible tells us that we are able to love only because God first loved us. He loves us despite what He knows about us. It’s unconditional. As I type this, one of my favorite songs of God’s love comes to mind. Let me share a few of the lyrics…
Your love is deep, Your love is high, Your love is long, Your love is wide
Your love is deep, Your love is high, Your love is long, Your love is wide
Your love is deeper than my view of grace, Higher than this worldly place, Longer than this road I travel, Wider than the gap you filled… (just makes me want to have church!)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships—when you love someone so dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. Hear this, really hear this: Love kept Jesus on that cross. Being God, He could have called for a legion of angels to protect Him; He DID NOT have to die. But He died for YOU, He died for ME. I’m thinking of “The Passion of The Christ (the movie by Mel Gibson).” Romans 8:38-39 says:
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below –indeed, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus’ death for us is proof of His unconquerable love for us! I know God tells us how great His love for us is so that we can feel totally secure in Him, despite any overwhelming circumstance—so we won’t be afraid. So because of this love, Jesus gives us a new commandment: He tells us to love others, just as He has loved us (The Golden Rule). By doing this, we will demonstrate to the world that we are His followers. That’s a pretty tall order. I mean… it’s not hard to love others when they make it easy, but what a challenge it is to love someone who makes it hard, or nearly impossible! I think we’ll look at 1 Corinthians 13 (The Love chapter), pick each verse apart and try to get a really good, really clear grasp and understanding of true Biblical love…and perhaps relate it to our lives.
Of course I’m going to go in the direction the Holy Spirit takes me, but please know that you are always…always welcome to contribute anything you feel that others who are reading would benefit from – feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment on what you think we need to discuss. Whatever. I’ve learned that with Christianity, we just need to go with God’s flow. I have a feeling we’ll be on this “Love” topic for a while…