07-2019
The central and best known passage in the world by Christians, as well as by some non-Christians, who have heard something from the Bible is without a doubt John 3:16… 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. I think dads or moms can imagine better than others what it would mean to sacrifice the life of a beloved son for someone else’s life.
What most people don't get to see is how much God loves them, & would fill their lives with blessings, joy & eternal life, if they just open their arms to Him.
When I read the Bible & see the promises of God in it, I make them my own, and you can do this too, because the Bible is a wonderful book filled with God's promises to His Children, & if you feel a desire to get to know God better, then you can consider yourself a child of God too.
God loves you no matter what you may have done in the past, not what religion you practice, not whether you think you are good or bad, you see God so loved the world, that means all people in the whole world. So for example in the case of the wonderful promise we find in Jn 3:16, I read it this way... God so loved me that He gave his only Son, so that I may have eternal life, and I have believed in Him. God's love is manifest in Jesus, when we give ourselves to Him, then God's love overwhelms our lives.
When I ponder about the painful drama of Jesus going to the Cross & suffering such a terrible dead because of God's love for us, it helps me to visualize, even more, the great love that my Heavenly Father has for you, and for me.
In case you wonder what I mean… Jn 1:12 But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become Sons of God, to those who believe in his name:
See, all human beings are invited to join God's Family, not all will accept the invitation, but we find out we are Sons of God, when we believe in Jesus, & confess Him as Lord of our lives. Rom 10:9-10
Well, the Bible reassures us that GOD IS LOVE.
1Jn 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. The one who does not love has not known God. For God is love. In this the love of God was revealed in us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
See, God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins, which means to pay the penalty we owed justice because of our sins, Jesus took all our sins upon himself in the Cross, & made us be the Righteousness of God. 2Cor 5:21
1Jn 4:16-19 And we have known and believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment that as He is, so also are we in this world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears has not been perfected in love.
We love Him because He first loved us.
The fear of being condemned before our Heavenly Father is gone, because we are sure of His love, & as Jesus is so are we. Hallelujah!
More ways in which God’s love is manifested for us…
Jn 17:20-23 And I do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And I have given them the glory which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.
To me that is paramount! The same love that our Heavenly Father has for Jesus, is the same LOVE he has for us! For you too.
Eph 2:4-8 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,
Since children look like their parents, when we love our neighbor, that is a good sign we are Children of God, because God is Love.
1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
16 By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
So the only command we have in the New Covenant, the New Testament, is to love.
Jesus said it this way…
Jn 13:34-35 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this all shall know that you are My disciples, if you have love toward one another.
Jn 15:12-13 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
The apostle Paul …
Rom 13:8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law. For: "Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust;" and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love works no ill to its neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.
Gal 5:14 For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
To illustrate a little more the love of God and how we should love ourselves, because human love is selfish by nature, the love of God is...
1Co 13:4-7 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
1Jn 3:17-18 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him? My children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 4:20-21 If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; For if he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jn 4:21 And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.
Mat 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
As you can see, it is impossible for an ordinary man of the world to love in that way, only those who have been born again, through faith in Christ, have that love within them, to give to those around them. Then we love, not because we managed to be good in order to love, that would be our own works, but we love because God is so good & loving that His Love in us motivate us to walk in love, see, all the glory goes to God!
Tit 3:4-7 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Rom 5:5-8 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly; for one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
So let's love, and enjoy loving, there is nothing that fills us with joy as much as giving His love away, oh what a joy to love!
Realize the Love of God is all around you, let it embrace you, hug you, kiss you, fill all your being, then turn around & share it with all who pass you by, His love makes life worth living, hallelujah!!!
I love you because He who is in me loves you!
Blessings… Alejandro
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