God Is LOVE

THE DAILY DE-VO  by Pastor Steven

God Is LOVE

Good Morning and welcome to the DAILY DEVO I am Pastor Steven.  I’m working from home and I and sending his from my home to yours, because like you I am sheltering in place.   Like you I am trying to make sense of all of this.  

I have a ton of thoughts about this who situation. But I want to save that for another day.  I wanted to begin this demo series on the subject of God’s love.   As Christians  we are called to love.  

We read yesterday that We are to love one another.   Why?  Because God is love!   God  defines love, love does not define God.  He is love, he is the essence of Love -  he is the tangible expression of love.  

If you do not understand that God is love than you will become backward in your thoughts, and your actions will depart from the true source of what love is and meant to be.  GOD IS LOVE.  

Everything God does flows from His love.  God loves us and does not leave us like we are.  He will bring us to action,  but before he does he will purify our heart, minds and souls. 

It’s important to remember that God’s love is not a foolish or silly type love,  that is often portrayed in our society.   But God’s love  is deep wide and profound, because that is His nature and the expression of His being. He loves

Good News:  He loves the unlovable and the unlovely!  Not because we deserve to be loved, but because it is His nature to love us, and He must be true to His nature and character. 

God’s love is displayed most clearly at the cross, where Christ died for the unworthy sinners who were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), not because we did anything to deserve it, “but God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Roman 5:8). 

The object of God’s love {humanity} never does anything to merit His love. We are the underserving recipients upon whom He lavishes that love. There is nothing in us that deserves God’s love.  Yet, God commends His love toward us even while we were still sinners. 

Here is the overarching truth of 1 John 4 we are to love others in the same way: sacrificially.  

The story of the Good Samaritan is an example of sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who may care nothing at all for us.

ESV Luke 6:27-28 says:  "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

Wait a minute:   Love my enemies?  you are kidding me.   Do good to those who hate me?  Really?  Bless those who cure me? I don’t like that!  You want me to pray for those who abuse me?  What kind of life do you want me to live?

A Christ like one!

Sacrificial love is not based on a feeling, not a song, or an emotion -  Sacrificial love is not found on a tee shirt, or in a cute one liner.  But LOVE is found in a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above your own, like our Savior Christ.   Our Love comes from God , for God is love.

In this Covid 19 Crisis - we should love others more than we love ourself, and we should serve others before we serve ourselves, and  help others before we help ourselves.  But I ask you?  Is this what we are doing?  Is this what the church in America has done?  

By and large I would say no. for the most part we are taking care of our own, we have locked ourselves in our homes, shut the doors to the church and told each other,  see you when this is over…

I realize this is a bad virus.  I don’t want it.  I don’t want you to get it.  Our church and our people have been encouraged to follow the stay at home - shelter in place order, but I have to be honest, there is a large part of us that is sad, mad and downright revolting

Not because I want to be out and about, but because I fear part of that which we give us we might not ever get back.  At least not in this lifetime on this earth as we know it.  

I will transition to the Eschatology of this in the next few days,  but today I ask you do you love like Christ at the supermarket?  Do you love Like Christ in this crisis?

Here is the problem:  This type of love does not come naturally to us as humans.

Because of our fallen nature, we are incapable of producing such a love; it can only come from its true source.

ESV Romans 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Jesus said:  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”