Love: Part 1

Introduction:

The topic of love has been on my mind for a long time. Now just to clarify, I'm not talking about a fleeting emotion here. I'm talking about an unchanging, unalterable, undeniable characteristic(a distinguishing feature or quality) of God. I, personally, continue to be amazed at the magnitude and the pureness of God's love and hope you become in awe of God's love, also.

Point 1: God not only has love, but He is love.

1 John 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Again 1 John 4:16

God is love.

Think of the significance of this. Not only does God have the capacity to love, but love is the very essence of God Himself. To do anything outside of love goes against His very nature and, therefore, is impossible. Think of the implications of that for a while.

Point 2: Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection illustrate God's great love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Going back to 1 John 4:9-10 gives this brief summary.

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus said the following when talking to His disciples about His command to love others.

John 10:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus Christ(God's son) did exactly that, but why did He need to give his life for us?

Romans 3:23-24 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

And so Christ gave his life for us, so that we may be made innocent of our sins and have eternal life with Him, God. He did not do this because we were deserving. No, He gave his life for us, because he loves us...with the greatest love! And so because of His love for us, we were valued at such a price that we were worth the price of Christ's sacrifice.

So in conclusion, if you ever think, "How can God love me? I do so many terrible things it is impossible that God loves me." Wrong. It is impossible for God to not love you. How can we resist such a great love? Let's not resist, let's love Him...