Love

Our culture acts like love has more to do with sex and romantic relationships than caring about anyone.  In part I think English doesn’t help.  We have one word we use to translate three different Greek words.  We seem to forget the true strength of love.  Real love should blow our minds because it will make someone do something for others for completely selfless reasons.  God gave us one of the greatest examples of this.  He took responsibility for resolving the issue of sin for us, when it was human pride that caused it in the first place.

John 3:16-17 NKJV - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Rom 5:8 NKJV - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Love is selfless, patient and kind.  True love will last forever.  There is one way to know what love really is:  through Christ.  God did not have to send Jesus down here to give us a view of who God is.  He did not have to die to reconcile our sins, which was man’s fault to begin with.  However, God is all about relationship and relationships of any kind take love.

As Christians we should be walking around like we have God’s love in us.  When we accept Christ, we then acquire the Holy Spirit, which is God living in us.  Many of us unfortunately tarnish this by letting our own feelings, hurts and doubts get in the way.  What we are proving when we don’t act with love is that we don’t know God.  The following verses sum up how God is love and loved us, so we should return the love to him and love others like he does.

1 John 4:7-19 NKJV

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.  By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because He first loved us.

Are we grumbling about how people treat us?  Are you gossiping about others just because they don’t fit in?  Are you even a slight bit angry with someone?  None of these show love, but only our selfishness.  Think about what God really did for us and the examples he gave of how to relate to each other with love.  Start working on learning to walk in love today and never stop.