1st John
4:7 to 10
7 Beloved, let
us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who iloves
is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know
God, for God is love. 9 jIn 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. 10 In this is love, lnot
that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, If God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another. NKV
How
precious is Your loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
God is LOVE. This portion of scripture is possibly one of the most over used in all of the bible. However it is an awesome statement of Gods character. The Bible is filled with scriptures speaking of Gods unearned, undeserved and unending love for us. Whenever I think of Gods Love, I think of 1st Cor 13:13. This verse tells us it is a greater virtue than Faith and Hope, because we are expressing the essence of God, and because the sum of the law is to love (esteem) others before ourselves. (Rom 13:8, 1st John 4:11) God is little by little shaping and molding us into the image of Christ. It is only natural that a God whose very character is love, would want to reproduce it in us. John3:16 reminds us that love is demonstrated by
giving. The highest demonstration of love is seen in the cross. The Father gave
the Son, The Son gave his life for our Salvation. "No greater love is
there than this: For a man to lay his life down for his friends." (John 15:13 ) What does it say that Jesus laid his
life down for his enemies as well! Love is NEVER measured by what it gets out
of you, but rather by what it costs you to give it. Jesus who is love typified,
gave ALL, everything for you and me, as the single greatest demonstration of
love ever seen. The Atonement of Jesus. LOVE incarnate gave us all he had to
give. That is how Paul, emulating Jesus, desired to be "broken bread and
poured out wine". Paul was prepared to hold nothing back. He wanted to
serve Christ with the same "give all" attitude of Jesus. How can we
think of ourselves as pleasing children with a Sunday and Wednesday only
attitude? He loves us 24/7 and little doubt weeps for us as often. Gods Love is
the rock on which we stand before him. What will you say to him? Lord, I loved
and gave some? Or Lord I gave all! Let us pray:
My Lord, you demonstrated your love for us by action. Yet we as humans are constantly looking for love here and accepting mere words as proof. This can be such a cruel world, where love is spoken often and withdrawn at morning light. We, as humans toss the word about as if it meant nothing. All the while you have demonstrated true love. You gave all! Forgive us for wounding each other. Help us to love as you have loved us, with a love not based on our worthiness, but given none the less. Thank you for loving us. We need you so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God is LOVE. This portion of scripture is possibly one of the most over used in all of the bible. However it is an awesome statement of Gods character. The Bible is filled with scriptures speaking of Gods unearned, undeserved and unending love for us. Whenever I think of Gods Love, I think of 1st Cor 13:13. This verse tells us it is a greater virtue than Faith and Hope, because we are expressing the essence of God, and because the sum of the law is to love (esteem) others before ourselves. (Rom 13:8, 1st John 4:11) God is little by little shaping and molding us into the image of Christ. It is only natural that a God whose very character is love, would want to reproduce it in us. John
My Lord, you demonstrated your love for us by action. Yet we as humans are constantly looking for love here and accepting mere words as proof. This can be such a cruel world, where love is spoken often and withdrawn at morning light. We, as humans toss the word about as if it meant nothing. All the while you have demonstrated true love. You gave all! Forgive us for wounding each other. Help us to love as you have loved us, with a love not based on our worthiness, but given none the less. Thank you for loving us. We need you so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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