GOD IS LOVE!

BARBARA E. PERKINS

GOD IS LOVE!

In the Epistle of 1 John 4:7-11 (NKJV) the word of God emphatically declares the preeminent aspect of His multifaceted nature which is love.  7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for LOVE IS OF GOD; and EVERY WHO LOVES IS BORN OF GOD AND KNOWS GOD. 8 HE WHO DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, for GOD IS LOVE. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 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.  11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.“  If we love one another we are born of God.  GOD SAYS THAT IF WE DON’T SHOW LOVE, WE DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ever hear THE LORD SAY (as in Matthew 7:21-23), “…I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME…”  He is saying we are not saved, no matter what we profess or how pious we act.  The highlight of God’s love for us was manifested and demonstrated by the fact He sent His only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, to bring us into right relationship with His Father God. That’s a real special love that can’t be matched.  God loved us first!  He said we should love one another.  Plain and simple, not complicated!  God is love, that’s His nature!  We are love because that should be our new nature if we are born again.  God’s mercy and grace are also key attributes. But I believe God’s Love is unsurpassed by any of His other attributes, yet, they are all great and essential in order for us to live the successful Christian life.  The Fruit of God’s Holy Spirit, which is extremely important in the development of Christian character, in Galatians 5:22-23, begins with, what else but, LOVE.  22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, 23 GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL. Against such there is no law.” God’s wonderful attributes are like examining a lovely, brilliant stone.  Every way you turn the stone and examine it, you see another aspect of God’s amazing brilliance through these attributes that are necessary to transform our lives.   But it is God’s most awesome attribute of LOVE that gave us Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.  God is love!  He wants us to show that we have LOVE for one another.

Would you like to be saved and develop a relationship with God as your Heavenly Father?  If you would really like to know God, invite His Son, Jesus Christ, into your heart.  Please pray this prayer:  Dear God, please forgive me of my sins.  I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Your Son.  I believe that He died on the cross, shed His blood, and rose from the grave for my salvation.  I confess Jesus right now as my Savior and Lord.  God fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can live a life that pleases You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!  If you prayed this prayer and meant it, based on Roman 10:9-10, you are saved.  Welcome into God’s Family!