God is Love...What does this tell us about God?

 If God is Love, and according to scripture He is...Our understanding and perception of God is dependent on how we love God, which in turn is predicated on how we believe God loves us.

Let's start by finding out the characteristics of love. To find out what love is we need to look at 1 Cor. 13:4-8.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preservers. Love never fails. 

Love is not a feeling as much as it is an attitude that is exemplified by actions that demonstrates the quality of love we have. These love qualities are not a measuring stick for us to strive to keep standards by, then check off as completed because we have worked so hard to love. Until these love qualities become infused in our lives and our living life because of Christ in us, they will never be real in us. Once they are real in us we will love without our striving or our conscious effort.
 
Religion looks at these verses as to how "WE" are to love...but until we recognize that these verses, first and foremost, tells us "how" God loves people we will not understand the depth, the height, the length or the breath of God's love for us.

To see how God loves us I will substitute love in the scripture above for God. Is using God in place of love a valid application for this scripture...YES...for John 4:8 tells us that "God "IS" love."

God is always patient with people...Is that the message of the the religionist?
God is always kind to people...Is that the action of grace haters?
God does not boast...Is that a quality of the celebrity preachers?
God is not proud...Is that a quality of the denominated seminarian?
God is not rude to people...Is that the attitude of those caught in religious deception?
God is not self-seeking...Is that the mind frame of religious christians?
God is never easily angered against you...Can that be said about those presenting their religious doctrines when their views are questioned?
God keeps no record of your wrongs...So unlike the mixed gospel of law and grace.
God does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
God always protects you. Is that the cry of the  retribution God promoters.
God always hopes the best for you.
God preservers with you.
God's LOVE FOR YOU NEVER FAILS.

That is the way God loves people. Wow...God loves us amazingly!

Now the following verses should be richer in your understanding of them.

A new command I give you: Love one another.  I have loved you, so must you love one another. (John 13:34)

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you,  in order to bring praise to God (Rom. 15:17).

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:32).

What is the common theme here? Is it not that we are to love, accept and forgive just has Christ loves, accepts and forgives.

Now, how does our love compare to God's love." Whether we realize it or not, we will love, accept and forgive other people in the same way (rightly or wrongly) we think we are receiving from God. We will never love others to a higher degree than we think God loves us. Therefore, if I believe God loves me when I am good but punishes me when I am bad...how do you think I will treat you? Is that the reason religionists are pegged as unloving and denominated churches are pegged as unloving. Religious people can be so mean spirited because in (their own mind) they see God as mean on times. 

Religionists live with a faulty understanding of God's love!

You will react to others by what you are filled with, for what you are filled with controls you. How you react to others let's people know what you are filled with... If you are filled with anger, what controls you...anger. If you are filled with the fullness of God's love and grace...what controls you...love and grace.

To be Spirit filled is to understand the knowledge of God's love and grace in Jesus Christ.

Of what spirt are you full of?




 

Comments

  1. Hubert MoulandSeptember 18, 2014 at 8:21 AM

    I would like to comment on just one of these.
    God keeps no record of your wrongs...So unlike the mixed gospel of law and grace.

    While it is true that if our sins are under the blood, Christ will remember them no more that doesn`t mean that God is so loving that He doesn`t keep any records. This is part of the false love gospel that is circulating these days.

    Here is what Christ revealed to John when he was banished to Patmos for his faith.
    And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

    Notice it says books.

    Paul also backs this up by saying in 1 Cor.3
    13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

    14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

    15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

    Paul also says in Rom.14:12
    So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

    Here is the exact words of Christ himself in Matthew 12:36.
    But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

    So if we as Christians are going to stand before God on day of judgement and be judged for our works and not our sins then there is a record being kept.

    This is the true love Gospel that Christ and Paul taught versus the false love gospel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GlennSeptember 18, 2014 at 3:20 PM

      If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? Psalm 130:3

      Be thankful Hubert that God does not keep a record of your sin. God could fill one yellow pad after another with our sins, toss them in our faces, and refuse to have anything more to do with us. If he did, according to Psalm 130:3, we would not stand a chance.

      But instead there is forgiveness, or, in the words of Romans 8:1, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

      In fact, according to Jeremiah 31:34, God says, "I ... will remember [your] sins no more." This is God's way of saying that he won't hold our sins against us, he won't act toward us on the basis of our sin. God has pushed the delete button on our guilt and shame, it is a shame your brand of religion hasen't done that.

      God does not cast us off. He continues to give his grace in spite of our failures.

      Love keeps no record of wrongs.
      God is Love.
      Therefore, God keeps no record of wrongs.



      Delete

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