Love Is . . .

1 John 4: 8

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Love and God are interchangeable. They are one and the same. You cannot know God if you do not know love. If there is not love inside of you, then God is not inside of you either. If you are not walking in love, then you are not walking with God. It is just that simple. The very essence of God is love. It is not a personality trait, not something He has a lot of. It is what and who He is. Verse 16 reads, “the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Here is a revelation for you straight from God. Love is the principle thing. It is what God has been telling us and teaching us about for five thousand years. Jesus left us this one commandment, to love one another even as he loved us (John 13: 34). He only needed to leave us one commandment because the one covers all. You will not hurt others if love guides you. And you will be good to others if you allow love to guide you. Everything that the apostles, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit have tried to teach us is contained in one word. It is so simple that it has eluded us. Love!

Hey, Christianity is not difficult to understand. It is not complex. It is really quite simple. If you want to be the greatest Christian ever, then be the biggest lover ever. Learn to get outside yourself and be kind, generous and considerate. Get yourself off of your mind and ask what you can do for someone else. You are God’s hands in this earth. Allow Him to bless someone through you today. Get completely wrapped up in love and stop being judgmental and critical. Stop finding fault in others and just give yourself over to loving them and blessing them. You will be walking so deeply with God that your every breath will be a greater infilling of Him. That is a pretty good place to be.

Happy Days are Here

Psalm 30: 5

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Some people spend their whole lives in bondage of guilt and torment because they fear God’s anger is against them. This seems to be true even of people who are Christians. It should not be. God is love (1 John 4: 16). He sees you with favor. In other words, when He looks at you, He looks upon you with fondness. Anger is not the emotion that wells up in Him when He looks at you. We are His children and dear to Him. While we certainly do things which can provoke His anger, His disappointment in us and with us is always overcome by His great love and affection for us. We are His people. He made the choice. He knew what He was getting when He chose us. We did not choose Him, He chose us. His love burns like an eternal flame; it cannot be quenched. I figure that is His problem. He is the almighty. He knew I was flawed when He chose me but His great grace is working in me and in all of us to transform us into the image of His dear son. I am willing to give myself to Him to allow Him to work Himself out in me. You will have a very difficult time doing that though if you think your relationship with the Lord is based on His anger towards you. While we all may deserve His anger, His grace has given us favor. Bask in your favor and be grateful that we are not getting what we would have deserved if it had been up to us to earn anything. Praise God for His love and Jesus’ blood and let the favor of God completely envelope you. After all, the weeping was for last night or last year. It is a new day so shout.