God is Love
- Feb 5, 2024
- 4 min read
INTRODUCTION :
The next couple of weeks we are going to focus on biblical truths we can learn about the word Love, because why not? It’s February! Today we will look at both the source of love and the call to love and then we will make practical applications.
The Source of Love
Listen to this from 1 John 4:7-12…Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Love is from God
Whoever loves is born of God
Whoever loves knows God
The Call to Love (this week we are going to talk about our call to love God, next week we will focus on our call to love others.)
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, The LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
When this was written Jewish children had this taught to them from the time they were born- it was so ingrained into their memories - it was “written on their hearts”.
Fast forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus’s words recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke. Let's look at it in Mark.
Mark 12: 29-30
“Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Through these words, we see that we are called to Love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
This means we are to love God with our whole being, both physical and spiritual, including our emotions, our thoughts, our intellect, our words and our actions.
Applications- What does it mean to love God?
Know Him - he desires a relationship with us above all else - we were created for that. He wants you to know Him. We can relate to this. We have this desire placed inside of us as well… To be known. In order to be known, you’ve got to spend time together. And… He wrote a book, read it, study it, it’s good.
Worship Him - He alone is worthy. Spending time in praise and thanksgiving is a good way to focus your heart and mind. Crank up some worship music and shed some tears of joy, be strengthened by His mighty hand
Prioritize Him - He is above all things and deserves to be the priority of our lives. Ask Him to give you understanding into His ways.
Obey Him - Listen… We don’t obey God to show our love for Him, we obey because we actually love Him. Obedience is the direct outflow of our love for God and what he has done.
Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. In 1 John 4:9, we read that God manifested His love for us by sending Jesus so that we might live through him. You can do this by simply asking Him into your life, into your heart, inviting Him in. “Lord Jesus, I am broken, I need you. I believe you died in my place to take away my sin. Forgive me and take my life and lead me starting right now. I invite the perfect Holy Spirit to dwell within me and teach me to love you with all I am.”
CONCLUSION:
The greatest commandment - Love God with all your heart, soul, mind - this is EVERYTHING we have/are. It’s undivided, unhindered - COMPLETE, PURE, and PERFECT. It requires BELIEF in Jesus. You cannot love God if you do not believe in his Son.
Next week we will look at the second part of the greatest commandment as well as a practical application that references a book by Greg Chapman titled The Five Love Languages.
Today’s Scripture References:
1 John 4:7-12
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Mark 12: 29-30
Thoughts/Questions To Consider:
What power does love have? (hint… 1 answer can be found at the end of the 1 John passage we looked at)
Why do we have to believe in Jesus to love God?
In the English language, we have 1 word for LOVE while in the Greek, there are many. What are the different types of meanings used in the bible for the word, LOVE?