Written by Regenia B.
1 John 4:19 “We Love, because He first loved us.”
There is no true love to Jesus in the heart, but that which cometh from the Lord Jesus Himself. From this overflowing fountain of the infinite love of God, all our love to God must spring. This must be a great and certain truth; that we love Him for no other reason than because He first loved us. Our love to Him is the offspring of His love to us. The warmth of love can be only kindled in the heart by God’s Spirit when we study His works. How great the wonder that such as we should ever have been brought to love Jesus at all.
Believers' love, whether for God or for others, is based on God’s love for them. God’s love is Agape love, which is the truest love. There are four Greek words that depict four kinds of love.
#1 Eros- Ear oss- for sexual passion- cupid love- love of the body.
# 2 Storge- stor g- for family devotion- natural affection-love of community and family.
# 3 Philos- Phi los- for friendship- Fathers love toward Christ and us. Soul love.
#4 Agape- for lovingkindness- unconditional love- sacrificial love—this characterizes God’s love. It speaks of compassion, regard, kindness and unselfishness. This kind of love is the product by which God sent His Son to the world to die for undeserving sinners. So, we see the love relationship was initiated by God, because all people were totally dead to God, dead in trespasses and sin. The supreme manifestation of God’s love was demonstrated in sending His Son to die, in order to take away the sins of all who believe. We were all unworthy of God’s love.
God chose to love a race of rebels and prodigals. How marvelous that when we had rebelled against him, he should, by a display of amazing love, seek to draw us back. No, never should we have had a grain of love towards God unless it had been sown in the holy sweet seed of his love to us. This kind of love believers are called to share with the world. People cannot love this way on their own, it happened because he first loved them. God’s love is far above human love. We must experience and understand the love of God to love others. His unconditional love, His redemptive love, a love that pursues evildoers until they stop running.
Love has for its parents the love of God shed abroad in the heart, but after it is divinely born, it must be divinely nourished. Love is an exotic; it must be watered from above. Love to Jesus is a flower of a delicate nature, and if it receives no nourishment but that which comes from the rock of our hearts it will soon wither. Here we have Jesus’ principle of love. Love comes from heaven, so it must be fed heavenly bread. It cannot exist in the wilderness, unless it is fed by manna from on high. Love must feed on love. The very soul and life of our love to God is His love to us. I love thee, Lord, but with no love of mine, for I have none to give; I love thee, Lord; but all the love is thine, for by thy love I live. I am nothing, and rejoice to be emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in thee.
Why love? Love explains why God creates, cares, why people are free to choose, why Christ died, and why people receive eternal life. Love requires a choice and an action, to show we love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. God is the source of our love; all Jesus did in life and death was supremely loving. We are to love faithfully the people Jesus has given us to love whether two or two hundred of them. We make God visible by loving each other and those who are not part of the body of Christ.
How well do you display your love for God
in the choices you make and the action you take?
Oh, that magnificent and abounding love!
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