1 John 4: 19
We love because He first loved us.
Do you ever wonder why more of us Christians don’t exhibit the kind of love that we read about in the Bible? It is not because we are bad people. There are people who truly love God and who are trying to live the life that they think God has called them to and yet they remain judgmental, critical and don’t really express love … and, to some degree, this describes most of us. Why do we find it so difficult to live in love and to accept one another in the spirit of Christ within us?
The answer is actually pretty simple. We have not yet realized His great love for us. I am an observer of people and I and a seeker of truth and for many years I have watched Christians and tried to figure out why there is so much disparity in our Christian experience. God loves us all the same, doesn’t He? Christ died for each one of us as if we were the only person in the world. So why do some people have a closer relationship with Him than others? Why do some exhibit so much more of His grace than do others? The answer seems to be that some have a much fuller revelation of His love for them. When you embrace that kind of love, then everything becomes safe. You no longer have to be guarded. God has validated you and spoken into your heart, “I love you just as you are and you are beautiful in my sight.”
You see, I think far too many of us have our eyes on ourselves instead of on Him. We look in the mirror and see all of our faults and mistakes. If we could, instead, turn our eyes upon Him and focus on how much He loves us our lives would be transformed. When a person discovers that God loves them through and through with a love that is beyond human comprehension then we begin to relax and receive the grace that He has afforded us. We no longer have to prove ourselves. We no longer have to promote and elevate ourselves. We can actually enter into a childlike acceptance of His love and then of ourselves. When you believe, truly believe that God loves you then it is easy to devote yourself to Him and to a relationship with Him. When you do so, then He finally is able to release Himself to you. You become a receiver. The next thing that happens is that you become gracious and kind to others. No longer do you have to scrap for respect and honor; God the Father pours it out on you. You become a giver of the grace that He shows you. I’m telling you, those who are immersed in and persuaded of God’s abounding love towards them are able to give from the depths of their heart. As a matter of fact, they pour themselves out like water. They amaze me in their kindness and oh, I pray that more of us can come to a full realization of the love of God.
No matter how many times I tell you that Jesus would have gone to the cross even if you were the only person on earth; no matter how many times any of us are told of the great love the Father has for us, it is all an insubstantial drop in the bucket compared to His great love. Only when we encounter the Father personally and allow Him to minister that message directly to our hearts will we come to understand the depth and breadth of His devotion to us. The good news is that we can be facilitators of such a revelation. God is awaiting us right now. Any moment that we turn open hearts and upturned faces to Him He greets us with outstretched arms. The power is in our hands. We can know the love of God but we must initiate that encounter. We must open the door and let Him in. He will never invade your space. His covenant is too important. He will not violate our free will, so He is waiting for us to call to Him. Just simply tell Him that you want Him to reveal the depth of His love for you and then let your heart be open to His ministrations. He will fill us all. This I know. There is nothing more sure than God’s great love towards us and there is nothing more predictable than that few of us have fully embraced this revelation. Let’s all go into the deep water and allow Dad to fill us to overflowing with His goodness and His love. Knowing that God loves us enables us to love others and that is something we can all live with.
