I’ve learned through
the years that genuine love doesn’t necessarily spring from feelings. It’s not
always romantic. Many times it is more—much more.
We are told, “God is
love” (1 John 4:8) Love is His nature. Love isn’t just a facet of
God, but it is His essence. His love is complete and perfect.
There are four words
for love found in the New Testament, each an important part of God’s design:
- Storge (empathic love, affection)
- Philia (brotherly love, friendship, respect, compassion)
- Eros (the root word of erotic—romantic love)
- Agape (unconditional, sacrificial, pure, God-like love)
Each is important, but
how do these four facets of love translate to believers today?
And how do we reflect
His love through our actions?
The Example of God’s
Love
Genuine love, as
evidenced by Christ, searches for the needs of others and seeks opportunities to
meet those needs (John 15:11-13)
Simply stated, genuine
love says:
“I see your need;
please allow me to meet it.” Or as the apostle Paul defined it, “For all the
law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself’” (Gal. 5:14 NKJV)
To paraphrase: I
submit myself to meeting your needs.
The focus of genuine
love isn’t receiving. It is giving, just as Christ gave His life for each of
us:
“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)
As a father, I cannot
even begin to fathom the pain that our wonderful Heavenly Father endured by
allowing His Son to die the terrible death of Calvary. I do everything in my
power to prevent anything bad from happening to my children. When they were
much younger, I was concerned when one of them had a bad day at school or when
one scraped a knee while playing.
Oh, how the Father’s
heart must have ached as He watched His precious, perfect Son be rejected by
the people He was sent to save. The people spat upon God’s Son, scourged Him,
mocked Him as they jammed a crown of thorns upon His head, and crucified Him
between common criminals!
Oh, my friend, never
doubt for even one moment the precious love of God the Father for you and me.
Truly, there is no other single greater thing that He could do to demonstrate
His love for us than send His Son to die in our place and for our sins.
And God’s great love
is extended to you today. The apostle Paul penned:
For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39 NKJV)
When you understand
this depth of pure love from God, it can be one of the most powerful motivating
forces in all of life!
Giving Your All to
Love Jesus
In my life, God has
used different people to show different aspects of His love. One was Kathryn
Kuhlman. God used her in a wonderful way to reveal how intimately God wanted to
touch my life through the Holy Spirit. Through her ministry, I began to realize
that the Lord loved me so much. He wanted me to have His anointing on my life.
Just as He used
Kathryn to bring great understanding regarding the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, He also chose to use my father-in-law, Roy Harthern, Dr. Oral Roberts,
Rex Humbard, and so many others to show me that He wanted to bless me in every
area of my life.
And through them (and
so many more mentors), I have come to understand that when we love God in
response to His love for us, everything changes.
Giving is only one
expression of my love for Him. I love Him in my service, in my worship, in my
dedication, in my life, in my obedience. Everything I do must be an expression
of that love.
In fact, if my love
for Him is not evident in everything I do, then I don’t really love Him. We are
told:
“And thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30)
To love God with all
your heart means with every atom of your being. He wants you to love Him
supremely and with everything that is within you. When you are commanded to
love God with all your soul, you are to love Him with all your emotions and
your intellectual will.
He wants your all.
When you love God with all your mind, you love Him with everything. This is
communicated as you talk about Him and introduce Him to others that they might
know Him too.
When you love Him with
all your strength, you love God with everything in you physically as well as in
your service to Him and in your daily walk. God the Father is really saying:
“I want everything about
you physically to love Me: your running, your doing, your service, what you put
your body through.”
The moment we have
this revelation of His love, we are overwhelmed by the dimension of such love
that everything we are and have becomes His.
Do you remember what
Paul said?
“For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then
were all dead” (2 Cor. 5:14 NKJV)
In other words, “I am
so moved, touched, and overwhelmed by it.” Therefore, if I give God lip service
but my heart isn’t in it, I am not expressing my love for Him with all my
heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength.
So Great a Love
When we love God in
response to His love for us, everything changes. What and how I give back to
Him are only partial expressions of my love. I also love Him in my service, in
my worship, in my dedication, in my obedience, in my relationships—in
everything. If my love for Him is not evident in everything I do, then I’m not
totally surrendered.
As the apostle Paul
declared:
I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20 NKJV)
In the presence of
such great love, we can’t help being touched and overwhelmed. Truly, the love
of Christ constrains us to give Him our very best. Our Father is never content
with leftovers, for throughout Scripture, we find the Father asking for the
first and the best—for surrender.
Then we become His
hands extended!
Giving from a Full
Heart
God’s love compels us
to share Him with others.
I can tell you that
each time I have preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am overwhelmed by the
privilege that God has given me to go to the nations of the world.
Again and again, as
multitudes stream down the aisles to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, I can only
say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for the privilege, precious Master.”
I continue to be
overwhelmed by this privilege, and the burden in my heart for the lost
continues to increase and intensify greatly as well.
The Time is Now!
We have so many open
doors in front of us.
We know we can
accomplish His agenda for this generation as each of us does our part, gives
our best, and surrenders everything to our wonderful Jesus, the One who
deserves our lives, our gifts, our talents, our all.
The nations of the
world are ready to receive the Gospel as never before.
There are millions,
even billions, in the world who are calling out for God, seeking answers, and
pleading for deliverance.
They are looking for
love, but they haven’t heard God’s message of ultimate love. They are looking
for hope, but no hope is in sight. They are begging for answers, but none are
found. They are searching for light, yet they are imprisoned in darkness.
It is our duty, job,
and privilege to travel to those places where those dear souls are crying out.
It is our responsibility to tell them that Jesus Christ is the Answer. It is our
calling to preach the Gospel to them before it is eternally too late.
And what a day that
will be when we stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done!”
Because of Christ’s love,
