 GOD IS LOVE
by claribel santiago
God is love. This passage is so often quoted it sometimes becomes an insignificant cliché we repeat without considering its power. How could we even begin to grasp the concept of God’s love?
We ourselves are incapable of such depth in emotion. Oh yes, we can love our parents, our children, our pets, a new outfit, our cars, but few of us would ever get the opportunity to fully express the sacrificial love we read about in the Bible, and even when we do, our motives fall short and are often in the interest of self. Not so with God.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world…” How much did He love the world? Well, the second portion of that verse tells us enough to send His Son, whom He knew we would humiliate and kill, to freely and willingly die for us. How is that for love? How many people you know would say: “okay, take my healthy child’s heart so that your sick child can live”? Exactly, no one would, and when Jesus came that is what He did. He was pure, holy and healthy who came to die for the unholy and unhealthy.
He first loved me…
In 1 John 4:19 the Bible tells us “we love because He first loved us”. As I meditated on what this meant to me personally, I had to dig into my past to find an answer. Growing up I always felt disconnected and unloved. For much of my adult life, before becoming a Christian, I believed that God was an angry being just waiting for me to mess up so He could set me straight. I lived in constant fear of dying and knew my end was not heaven. I was not blind to my sin and there was no way I could even claim to “being a good person”.
When I became a Christian it was the preaching of the love of God that attracted me to Him. For so long I had sought love and did not find it, then realizing it had been there for me all along. My love and desire to please God came from the realization that “He loved me first”.
How do I love thee?
It is often I hear people say “well, if God is love then how come…” insert your own thoughts here. We all have our own agendas. Often the question is not, if God is love, but really do we want His love and should He submit to our views of what love is? If it is true as the Bible says that “He is love” and if we believe He is the Creator, then would it not stand to reason that the Creator and author of love would be better able to define what love is really about?
Does disciplining your child show a lack of love? Does your child getting hurt and into turmoil show your lack of love? Every parent knows that love is not demonstrated by not correcting their child, nor by how much stuff is given them. Love is displayed in the sacrifices made for those we claim to love.
If this is true, then God’s love has already been demonstrated through Jesus’ willingness to leave His throne in heaven to come and live among those He created, at the high price of His own life. Since God has already demonstrated His love for you, what is your response to His love?
“So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” Hebrews 3:7-8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions for personal study:
What do you believe about God's love for you personally?
How do you think God sees you?
What do you think your response to God's love should be today?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have questions? Need prayer? Need encouragement? Need to know your not alone? Drop me a line I want to pray for you and encourage you. (Please read below for encouragement and questions for personal study) Bible verses are taken from the New King James Versions.
Top |
