"In This Is Love"

  How many times we misunderstand the love of God. Maybe I should say how I misunderstand God's love. You may not but sometimes I do. Looking at the love of God, we find that we cared nothing for God! Yes, look carefully. Paul points in Rom. 5:6-8 that God sent His Son to die for us when we were enemies! We didn't love the Lord and didn't care if we walked in a relationship or not. John writes in I John 4:10: "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." John continues: "We love, because He first loved us." (I John 4:19)

  What does all this mean? It shows us that God did all the moving in the relationship, not us! It reveals how tragic of a people we can be. Too many times we think that our ability to love the Lord is all on us yet here we were going about things in our own way, whether it be in rebellion toward authority, in vile language, in arrogance and pride or just hurting someone the way they hurt us, the love of God meant little. When we came to our senses and finally saw the love of God for us, we didn't have to coax Him or earn love from Him. God loved from the beginning and that love continues.

  There are those who think that their good behavior or their following Scripture is what earns their love from God. That's self-righteousness! God loves period and He sent His Son as proof! It is not necessary for us to try to make a deal with the Lord to love us or to generate something good within us to make us worthwhile to be loved. Even when we were enemies!!!

  We aren't able to love on our own. The Lord is able. In fact, the Lord is more than able, He is eager and already involved in bringing us to His love and salvation which is something we could never do for ourselves. Loving us before we loved Him, that's the drawing power. It was Jesus who laid down His life voluntarily for us, the vile. In this is love. That's why we find recorded: "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us..." (I John 3:16) God expressed His love which means, everyone who ends up burning in the fires of hell for eternity, they weren't God rejected. They were loved and rejected God's love for themselves!