John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life
“Love is not merely a feeling; It’s a commitment.”— Dave Willis.
Love is not an emotion. Emotions are controlled by the levels of chemicals in our brain. There is no pill called ‘love’ or ‘hate’ that can change the chemical reactions in our body or brain. Dopamine can wire the brain with positivity but love is not a feeling, excitement or thrill. Love is a commitment.
To understand love, we must understand the author of Love. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:7). God’s love is constant as it is a commitment. It does not change by our good deeds, generosity or godliness. He loved us with the same quantum of love when we were in the pigs pen as much as He does when we are on the pulpit. We cannot excite God by our goodness and make Him love more as His love is unconditional.“God so loved the world”, when the world was in a mess, filled with malign, molest and mistakes. He did not come to redeem us because we were worthy of His love but because He was committed to save us from the treachery of sin. Many confuse God’s favour with God’s love. Favour is a by-product of our obedience, but God’s love remains constant in spite of disobedience and willful defiance.
Only those who have experienced the immeasurable love of God can express the compassion of God to others.
Love is:
1. Intentional: Love is not conditional but intentional. Conditional love is not love at all. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God loves our enemies; He loves those who have hurt and harmed us as much as He loves us! He loves even the atheists and the argumentative agnostics. He intentionally goes in search of the wandering rebellious sheep to express His love to win them back into the blanket of His grace. We don’t love others because of what they do or what they say but because they are procreations of the God of Love.
- Dimensional: God’s love is multi-dimensional. God does not just care about the major events of our life. He cares about every little detail of our life. Even every hair on your head has been counted (Luke 12:7). The God who controls the millions of galaxies also cares about every blade of grass.
- Unconditional: God’s love is unconditional only His favour is conditional. For He makes His sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good (Matthew 5:45). Our obedience increases our rights and privileges in the Kingdom of God but God’s love invites us into the Kingdom of God.
God’s children who are steeped in His intentional, multi-dimensional and unconditional love lose the ability to hate others. Love is a commitment not a feeling.
1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Prayer: God of Love, may every fabric in my being be woven with your divine love. Amen.
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