In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have 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. 1 John 4:9-11
We recently had an evangelistic couple visit our church and preach, teach and minister to us. What an incredible blessing they were to us and the body of Christ. Their ministry is so incredibly powerful.
One of the things that I really loved about them was their ability to walk in the door, greet new people and, with all honesty and sincerity, tell these people that they just met “I love you” brother/sis.
This is an incredibly unusual trait, even in the body of Christ.
I tell people that I love them all the time too. Not just loved ones and people that I am close to, but people who look at me like I have three heads, because by the worlds measure, we just are not “close enough” to say we love each other ; ). I don’t have to be close to you to tell you that I love you. I have to be close to Jesus. This love that we exhibit, is not of us, it is of God.
You know that every blog ends with me saying “Luv Ya!”. And, I really mean that I do, as did my brother and sister evangelist team. But we do not have the ability to love this way at will or in our own power. This love is supernatural. It is a provision from God, to us and He expects (and even commanded) that we pour it out on the world.
We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, our neighbors and in fact all those around us, with the love that the Lord has shown us. (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your should and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31).
To be able to love that way, we have to comprehend the heights and depths of God’s love for us. We have to study verses such as “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1 John 3:16; “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1; “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8”
While we were still sinners (people who rejected, reviled and disregarded God) Jesus died for us. God loved us so much that He allowed the sacrifice of His own Son, so that you and I could be forgiven. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly endured being spat on, mocked, beaten, whipped and crucified, so that you and I could spend eternity with the He and the Father! How much more does He have to do to show His love for us? And, if He loves us so much that He would endure all that He did to pay the penalty for our sin (which we could not pay), should we not have the kind of gratitude that causes us to desire being obedient and pleasing Him?
If He says love your neighbor as yourself, shouldn’t we be willing to love our neighbor as ourselves? Shouldn’t we be willing to risk saying I love you, even to people who won’t reciprocate or even to those who might reject us? Even our enemy (But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35 & 36)? After all, Jesus loved His enemies so much He died for them (us).
Besides, as the church of Jesus Christ, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Nothing that God wills, asks or requires is impossible for us. We can love others, our neighbors and our enemies, we just have to choose to. We have to be so deeply in love with our Savior (the way that He is with us) that we would long to please Him in that way. You have an indwelling, supernatural ability to love those around you! Use it!
He has said over and over in His word, I am so in love with you! Isn’t it time that we tell Him how deeply we love Him? Isn’t it time that we show Him the heights and depths of our love for Him? Isn’t it time we be obedient and begin to love our brothers/sisters, neighbors and even our enemies, the way He loved us, while we were still His enemies?
I pray that today we would fully comprehend the heights and depths of the Father’s love for us. I pray that it would move us so deeply that we would desire to be obedient in every aspect of our lives. I pray that supernatural, sacrificial, humble, reviving, grace filled love would pour out of us and into those around us. The eternal lives of those around us and the glory of God, are depending on it. Pour your love out!
If you have never experienced the redeeming love and grace of our Heavenly Father and if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. The Father longs to call you His child and to forgive and redeem you. I promise you have never experienced a love like His.
Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com, so that I can pray for you and help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Precious Savior, Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya (I really do : ),
Psalm 143:8, 1 John 4:7; John 15:12;
