Let’s Talk About Love: God’s Love – Page 2
The Word of God often speaks of God’s love toward mankind. God’s love is unconditional (Agape) toward us, but His blessings and favor are not. God shows His favor to those who keep His commands, as evidenced in Deuteronomy 7:9 (Amplified), which says, “Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who is keeping His covenant and His [steadfast] loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”
Walking with God as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David did will provoke God’s blessings. 2 Chronicles 6:14 (NIV) says, “LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth – you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.” And again in Psalm 86:5 (NIV), “You are forgiving and good, oh Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.”
Psalm 103:17-18 (NIV) says, “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”
Although God shows favor and rewards those who seek after Him, His greatest example of love toward mankind was gracefully and freely given – He loved mankind even though we despised Him. He gave the ultimate sacrifice even though no one deserved it. The following group of scriptures describes this love (all from the NIV):
*John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
*Psalm 36:7, “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
*Psalm 86:16, “For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.”
*Psalm 145:8, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
*Jeremiah 31:3, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.'”
*Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
*Ephesians 1:4-6, “In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.”
*Ephesians 2:4-5, “Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved; not of works, lest any man should boast.”
*Titus 3:4-5, “But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.”
*1 John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!”
*1 John 4:9, “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.”
Wow! God is truly our Father – He loves each one of us, and wants us to be His children! Notice in the scripture above from Ephesians 1:4, God ‘predestined’ us to be adopted! He wants us to be His sons and daughters!
Our Father God is a God who wants to adopt us! Those of you whose earthly fathers are less than loving, or less than present in your lives, can climb up into the lap of our Father God and be accepted without scorn and loved without conditions! When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives, we take on the nature – the character – of the Father God. It is then that we can know this agape kind of love.
When we enter into the kingdom of God, we are to love God and our fellow man, just as God loves them. You may think you are not capable of this kind of love, but God gave you this love when you were born again, as indicated in Romans 5:5 (NIV), “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
So we have God’s love inside of us! Now what? Let’s look at the purpose of that love next!