Jesus loves you! God is love! It is a common theme in the Christian world, but what exactly does that mean and how does it work? In this blog series, I will address this idea and explore the love of Jesus through biblical stories. But first, let’s look at the concept of love!
How do we define love? According to Merriam-Webster, love is the following:
(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties: maternal love for a child
(2): attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers: After all these years, they are still very much in love.
(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests: love for his old schoolmates
b: an assurance of affection give her my love
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion: love of the sea
3a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration baseball was his first love
b(1): a beloved person : DARLING —often used as a term of endearment
(2)British —used as an informal term of address
4a: unselfish loyal and benevolent (see BENEVOLENT sense 1a) concern for the good of another: such as
(1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2): brotherly concern for others
b: a person’s adoration of God
That’s a lot of definitions for one word! For us English speakers, we generally understand which type of love is being talked about from the context of the sentence. It can get lost in translation. As discussed in another blog post, language is not a one-to-one translation.
The Greek language, which is the original language of the New Testament, has several words for love: Agape (agapao, agapetos), which is unconditional love towards humankind; Phillia, which is brotherly love or love of friends; and Storge which is love for our parents, children, and other family members. As this series continues, I will explain the meaning of love that relates to specific passages and stories.
What the Love of God Looks Like
God is the source of love. How do we know? Because it’s written in the Bible of course! There are tons of passages regarding this, but I’m only going to pick a few. The first is 1 John 4:7-12 (although I highly recommend that you read 1 John 4:7-21).
The Greek word for love in this passage is agape (unconditional).
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (NIV)
Verse 7 clearly states that love comes from God. You may miss this, but it also shows that the love of God is sacrificial. Verses 9-10 state he sent his only Son to live among us and through us should we choose the path of Christ. Jesus was sent as the atoning sacrifice for us.
The Mercy of God
To understand this, we need to understand what mercy is. It is generally regarded as being kind and compassionate to those who don’t deserve it. We’ve probably all seen movies where a character throws themselves at the mercy of the court. This usually means they admit their guilt and plead for mercy – kindness and compassion with the hope of a sentence that is less than their crimes deserve.
Ephesians 2:4-5 shows God’s mercy for us because of his love.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (NIV).
The Eternal Love of God
Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
Do you know what that means? It means that while we were (or are) living in sin, Jesus already died to take our place. He provided a way out of our messes before we knew we needed a way out.
What God’s Love Cannot For Us
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We are God’s creation, and he loves all that he has created regardless of what bad things we are involved in. However, it is essential to note that it doesn’t release us from the consequences of our actions.
We live in a world where the Church has constantly said, “Jesus / God loves you.” Yes, it is the truth. But it is often presented in a way that leaves people believing that they can do whatever they want and God will ignore their sin. That is a dangerous lie! God will always love you, but he has outlined his expectations of our conduct in the Bible.
Many people complain that the Bible is just a book of rules. While God does have rules, and if that is your thinking, I ask you to consider this: Have you ever driven a car or ridden in a car or bus? Are there rules associated with vehicles on the road? Do you complain about those rules? What happens when the rules aren’t followed? Ignoring traffic lights and signs, keeping to the right (USA), staying on your side of the double yellow line, etc., will get you into an accident sooner rather than later. God’s rules are to keep you safe and in a close relationship with him.
When God removed Adam and Eve from Eden, it didn’t mean he loved them less. God had given them a clear boundary concerning the tree of life. They crossed that line and paid the consequence. God still loved them and created clothing to cover their nakedness, but they could no longer stay in the garden.
If we consider the discipline of our earthly parents, we will see the same principles apply. Now, if you didn’t have a great father, or maybe you didn’t know your father, you may easily skew God as a father. You will take your earthly experiences of Dad and put them on God, and that may not be the best assessment. No man is perfect, but God is.
When I was about twenty, I got a speeding ticket for going 17 mph over the limit. Oops! I wasn’t intentionally speeding; I was on an interstate and wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t expect my father to bail me out, and I didn’t want him to know. I told my mom about the incident and didn’t realize my father had overheard me. He stepped in and said, “Well. I guess that’ll teach you to slow down next time.” Yup. I had to pay a fine and got points on my license for the next five years. It taught me to pay more attention to the speedometer, and I have never received another speeding ticket. My father loved me, but there was a consequence. He wasn’t about to call a lawyer to have my ticket reduced.
If you commit a crime and end up in jail, it doesn’t mean your parents don’t love you. But there is a system in place that has the punishment lined up. No amount of love will get you out of it. God has made a way out through Jesus (check my other blogs). If you have accepted Jesus as your way of life, your past mistakes are wiped out. He will work with you on your present shortcoming. But, you cannot think God’s love will keep you from earthly consequences or eternal death.
Until the next time under the palm, be blessed!
