Part 5 of SWAGG's July series about the characteristics of our great God
I was recently talking to my mom and we got on the topic of children and how they love. I realized that children can't truly love their friends and family the way adults can, because they can't fully understand the concept of loving others. Kids can love others in their own way, but our love for them will most often be fuller.
Just as children don't have a full understanding of what love really is or what it should look like, neither do we. As adults, we still can't love like God or understand His perfect love. God's love is complete, it's part of everything He does. It's the foundation for so many of His other great characteristics.
We, as Christians, can have God's love in us and share it with others; however, we're going to fail at some point and possibly revert to a more worldly love of emotions and expectations. That's why we need to remind ourselves of God's great love and spend time letting Him fill us up with it.
I chose to put God’s characteristic of love to the end of this series because it’s what so many of His other ones are rooted in or combined with. He uses His knowledge and wisdom with love, He controls His power by love, He is fair to us because of love, His holiness makes His love pure.
The Bible states, in 1 John, that God is love. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes exactly what true love is, meaning that it’s what God is like. 1 Chronicles 16:34 and 1 Corinthians 13:8 share that God’s love will never end or fail us. Like everything else in the world, the world’s type of love is going to fail us and, at some point, end. Paul tells us that it’s impossible to totally understand Christ’s love. We can know and experience some parts of His love, but our brains can’t process its immensity. In Psalms, we find a beautiful description that says God’s love is better than life. What hope this statement gives to us when we feel let down and unsatisfied with life.
In God’s great love, we have knowledge of these things: One, He calms us. Through God’s love we can experience Him quieting our minds and hearts. Two, He fills us with His love. Because we have the Holy Spirit, we’re constantly having our hearts filled with His love, allowing us to remember the depth of it for ourselves and sharing it with others. Three, He died for us even when we were against Him. Jesus knew that we would doubt His love for us, so He showed us how much He really does love us by dying for us to have life, even though we could never deserve it. Lastly, He calls us His children. After accepting His gift of eternal life, God would have been kind enough to just make us His servants, but He goes above and beyond in His love and makes us His children.
Here’s what not to do, knowing God’s love: Think that what you do could block God’s love for you – Nothing in the present or future, nor any type of power – in fact, nothing in all of creation – will ever stop God’s love from reaching you. Be afraid of God – God’s love is so pure and full that it pushes away all fear. Give up on trying to love others – You have God and His love living in us, making it possible for you to love everyone.
God’s Guidance:
1 John 4:7-8 (NIV) – “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) – “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV) – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Ephesians 3:18-19 (NIRV) – “May you have power together with all the Lord’s holy people to understand Christ’s love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. And may you know his love, even though it can’t be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you.”
Psalm 63:3 (NIRV) – “Your love is better than life. So I will bring glory to you with my lips.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) – “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Romans 5:5 (CEV) – “that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:8 (NIV) – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 3:1 (NIV) – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 4:18 (NIV) – “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Application:
1. Choose to praise God and focus on His love, especially when you are let down, confused, or unsatisfied with life
2. Remind yourself of God’s love when fear is threatening to take over
3. Ask God to refresh your heart with love for others
Strength Point:
God’s love removes fears and doubts, calms us, and is our hope.
Reflection Question:
Are you taking the time to fill up on God and His love or are you loving those around you with the world's type of love?
Prayer Prompt:
Hi Jesus! Thank You for Your great love. Your love is complete and perfect at all times. I'm sorry for doubting Your love for me and isolating myself from You. I'm also sorry for loving others with the world's version of love and not Yours. Help me to have a better grasp of Your love for me. I want to feel secure in Your love, so that I can share it to those around me, especially to __. I pray that I'd grow in You and Your great love, so that I wouldn't be so quick to love people by my emotions and expectations. Teach me to love even the hardest people, for You loved me while I was still in my sin. Replace my wounded, stone heart, with one that beats to love. Additionally, help me to love You back with all that I am. Thank You for always loving me. Thank You that You won't ever stop loving me. Your love never fails, You are good. I love You always!
A Prayer to Pray Over Others:
Hi Jesus! Thank You for Your great love. Your love is complete and perfect at all times. Remind my friend that they never have to doubt Your love for them. In fact, I ask that You'd help them to have a better grasp of Your love. Make them feel secure in Your love, so that they can share it to those around them, especially to the lonely and those who feel unloved. I pray that they'd grow in You and in Your great love, so that their love for others wouldn’t be based on their emotions and expectations. Teach them to love even the hardest people, for You loved all of us while we were still in our sin. Please heal the hearts of those whom have been wounded by the lack of love the world gives. Additionally, help them to love You back with all that they are. Thank You for always loving my friend here. Thank You that You won't ever stop loving them. For Your love never fails and You are good. I love You always!
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