Christian Living

If God is Love

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
09/03/21
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

“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.” (1 Corinthians 13:1)

If God is love, then to have everlasting abundant life, we need to live abiding in His love and to show His love to everyone we meet. From the great commandment of Jesus from the Old Testament, He gave to us to satisfy the law of God. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

There are many gods in this world, as the world worships many things. It is not always a graven image made from wood or metal, the god we worship controls the course of our life. If my day is consumed by gathering possession and riches, then my god is wealth. Whatever your god is, whatever consumes you, will offer you empty of peace when you live this world. There is only one Sovereign God who was before the beginning and lives in eternity. There is only one Creator through whom all exist. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:13)

Today’s world lives for a future that may never exist, as their vision is confined to the world. The world is passing, and all life in the world is passing even faster. The world lacks an eternal perspective, as either they know nothing of it or care nothing about it. They have rejected the Word of God even as most have heard it. Their love for this world is too great to consider the next. All will face death, all will face judgment, and many with no worth to escape the final and second death. They have rejected God’s truth, and the god of this world has blinded their hearts to see. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Many in the world cannot see an eternal perspective as they have no faith to reveal it. In horror, they will face the truth of God’s wrath against sin. Those who have rejected the truth have been judged already. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31) God is Holy and perfect in righteousness, and none can enter Heaven unless they are perfect as God. No one can live a perfect life of righteousness and be able to stand the judgment of God. God is His mercy, and grace has provided a way because He loves us. The way is God’s Son Jesus, who lived a righteous life, sacrificed His life, and paid the world’s sin debt. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

If God is love, then how should we abide in that love? Worldly love is primarily a physical relationship, and I am not saying it wasn’t meant to be that. Love is a much deeper relationship than physical affection, as man was created in the image of God. Love is complete when it is primarily spiritual. People seldom think that we are spiritual beings in a physical body for the sake of living in this world. People are spiritual beings bound for a spiritual eternity when the body fails to support their life here in the world. When the body dies, the spirit is free to move on to the spiritual realm. Everlasting love then has to be spiritual. The spirit can only survive in the Kingdom of God. Without Jesus, as our Advocate, the spirit suffers spiritual death at the judgment. With Jesus as our Advocate, we grow in His likeness and grow in God’s perfect love. “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:17)

I believe God’s greatest attribute is love. God’s love is the Greek word agape, and the short definition is unconditional love. It would be impossible, I think, for a man to fully comprehend the love of an infinite Deity of Divine Nature, as the Lord God Almighty. In the first letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul gave and true description of God’s love. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7)

I have never been a groupie, not that it is a bad thing. I have never found a group I could identify with. I was in the Boy Scouts, the Army, a Union job once, and various employee groups. If I were ever a groupie, then I would be a Jesus groupie. As a Jesus groupie, like others in groups, I want to imitate the group leader. My Group leader is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one I strive to imitate; if I did not, I would be bringing dishonor to His name and the members of His Church. Only Jesus is the radiance of God, and I want to be as much like God as someday through Jesus, I will be. “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:3-4)

I can do nothing of value for the Kingdom of God or of value to my eternal welfare outside of having like-mindedness with Jesus Christ. If I am to have God’s love in my heart, then I must have a mind in the likeness of Jesus. I cannot fellowship with a brain surgeon or understand what he is talking about. I have to get to know him first and learn his ways. Neither can I have fellowship with my Lord if I do not learn His ways. I cannot give God-worthy love without understanding the love He has for me. Knowing Jesus is the way. “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” (Philippians 2:1-2)

By following Jesus and learning His love for me, practicing His love towards Him, then I will be equipped to show that love of God to all that comes into my path. Show God’s love not so they would love me, but so they would see the love that God has towards me. The prayer is that they would desire God’s love towards them and seek Jesus while He can be found. This fulfills the commandment given to us by Jesus. When we love God and with all our hearts and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, then we have lifted Jesus that all may be drawn to Him. We have also fulfilled the command of our Savior. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

If God is love, it is all about His Son and our relationship with Him in love. A personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to connect with God the Father, the only way to become a child of God, and have a restored image of Him from the fracture of sin. He is the way, the truth, and the way of life everlasting. (John 14:6) Jesus has placed all our sins on the cross, and our debt is paid in full. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Through Jesus, we will have that perfect righteousness allowing us entry into the Kingdom of God as a child of God. I am no longer tied to the short vision of a passing world but living eternally with an eternal vision. I may owe my creditors a dollar or plenty here in the world, but before God, I have a clean bill of health, as I may stumble and fall here, but I am free in the Kingdom. “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)

Paul said there are three essential things we need to survive in this world. Faith in the Word of God, (Jesus) hope in the eternal promise of inheritance (Through Jesus), and love, which is the greatest of the three. “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

If God is love, then we should abide in His Love. To abide in God’s love, to have His grace and mercy, to have eternal security, then we must abide in Jesus, our Lord, and Savior. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)

Thomas Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, May 13, 2020