Love

Love is an amazing feeling and a wonderful experience. There is absolutely no one in this world who has not experienced love – it could be the love of parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, pets, teachers, spouses or GOD. There is different dimension to love and it varies from one relationship to the other. Though the kind of love varies in each relationship, we all will agree it is a beautiful feeling and a wonderful experience to be loved and to love one other. Without love, the world would be gloomy, sad and a depressing place to stay. What does the treasure book speak about love?

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:16

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:8

Dictionary defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection. The biblical definition of love is “God is Love“. There is no better definition for love but God himself. He is Love and the only true source of love. The demonstration of His love is seen on the cross of Calvary.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:10

Jesus, the Son of God was sent to die on the cross for the sake of mankind – to redeem us from the power of darkness and bring us back to the kingdom of light as children of the living God. He did not have to do this. He could have just left us in the pathetic condition we were in – living in the kingdom of darkness in affliction as slaves of Satan. But He loved us so very much that He gave His only begotten Son to take up the punishment that we deserved and brought us back to the kingdom of light as children of God. He did this out of pure unconditional love. Unconditional means there are no conditions or strings attached. It is the kind of love that is not based on what someone does for you in return. You simply love them and want nothing more than their happiness. God loved us while we were still sinners and Christ died for our sake taking our punishment not expecting anything in return but just for our happiness – for us to have eternal life and not perish in the lake of fire. There is no other greater love than laying ones life for his loved ones and that is what Jesus did for us.

The biblical definition of love is God Himself. His love towards us is unconditional. He demonstrated this love by sending His son Jesus to die for our sake just so that we do not perish but can have eternal life, if we believe in Him.

‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

John 15:12

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Matthew 5:44

The first and the second commandment that God has given us is concerning love. So that’s how important “love” is for God. The first commandment is regarding Loving God – we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second one is to love one another. The Love for God should be above the love towards any other human or thing or animal. Our first love should be God and then one another. Jesus also taught that we should even love our enemies no matter how bad they are to us. God does not Hate us even when we sin. It would definitely upset Him to see us doing wrong but that will never cause Him to hate us. If He had hated us for the sins we committed, He would never have sent Jesus to redeem us. Hatred is never an option for us. We should love one another including our enemies.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:7

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

1 John 4:20

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:35

We already saw that God is love. Also, Love is of God – meaning God is the only source of true love. Love comes to us from God. So Love is a factor that helps us to find if we truly share a relationship with God – if we actually know God and belong to Him. It also tell us if a person truly loves God. If you do not love one another whom you see in person, then you cannot love God whom you cannot see. If anyone hates a person, then he does not love God. Loving one another also shows we are disciples of Christ.

Love brings to light our actual relationship with God. As children of God, we are to first love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Then love one another including our enemies. If we do not have love for one another we are not born of God and do not know God.

Treasures uncovered

Prayer:

Father, thank you for teaching us that You are Love and is the source of true love. We thank you for loving us unconditionally. Jesus we thank you for putting us before you and taking up our punishment to give us eternal life full of happiness. Help us to love you with our complete self and to love one another. We love you Jesus, in Jesus name, Amen.

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