My Love Given to You
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
God is perfect love (1 John 4:16). That is the essence of His being. In love, He created us in His image, so we could have a genuine love relationship with Him.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, their nature became self-centred and sinful. As more people were born, this nature was passed on, and quickly love didn’t characterise the world. Yet God still brought His love through the centuries.
The Lord had a plan to redeem man from their fallen state. He Himself entered the world at the proper time as a man, and taught about the true God, showing what He is like (miracles…), and finally, remaining sinless, was crucified for our sin. This is God’s type of love.
Those still apart from the true God are greatly limited in their ability to love. Only those who respond to His sacrifice for them, and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord receive the Holy Spirit inside to change them. They then begin the journey of growing close to their Maker and learning to love Him and others as He desires. This allows growth to love in the same sort of way as God.
So, God mercifully paid the penalty for our sin through His death, and was resurrected, proving He was God and loved us. God has also provided His own Word to us in the Bible to declare and teach us about Himself, and show His purpose and intention for humankind. He answers prayer whenever it’s right, when those who have turned from sin to Him ask. And He is still very active on the earth in many other ways.
God’s love is vast and complete, beyond our understanding. He longs for relationship with each of us. Let’s come.
Other Scripture
Ephesians 3:16-19
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a