THE GOD OF LOVE - LOVE LIFT YOU UP WHERE YOU BELONG
WEEK ONE - THAT'LL SHOW'EM
God showed His great love for us by sending [his Son Jesus the] Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)
Raise your hand if you know what the Greek word sunisteso means.
No cheating, no googling.
In Romans 5:8 the disciple writes that God “showed” (sunisteso) his great love for us. The word means to make an impression, to demonstrate, to recommend. Do you think the advent (sending) of Jesus Christ made an impression on the world? Well, sure after more than 2000 years and the conversions of millions of believers and followers, all laying claim to the name of Jesus, I would say God made an impression.
Jesus said it like this, in 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 eternal life.”
The powerful influence of the divine love is…well…it’s just plain all powerful. It’s an unparalleled instance of love. A life for a life, a body for a body, God demonstrates his love, but not just a proof, not just a testimony; God provides unparalleled evidence of the truest of love expressions ever to be shown. Beyond all expressions throughout all human history. God reveals his love in the most enduring and affecting way possible, he offers up the life of his Son Jesus for the lives of many. He creates in Jesus a perennial love offering. Not merely an annual seasonal one-time event, but an offering for the ages. Beyond all time and limitations God meets the needs of his creation by sending into the world of his creation the manifestation of his love in the person of Jesus. And he does this love offering to create a way to bring them safely to himself in the kingdom of God.
This great love invites us to open our hearts and receive Him that we may experience Him fully by obedience to his word, love Him back in our actions, and trust Him completely in faith.
For Reflection:
Do you have trouble embracing God’s gospel of love? What are some specific reasons why you find it difficult? What are you going to do about it?
Understanding This Love: Agape Love
Everything God does flows from His love, agape love. The Greek word for “love,” agape, is typically defined as the “self-sacrificing love.” This is the love that moves people into action and looks out for the well-being of others, no matter the personal cost. Biblically speaking, agape is the love God showed to His people in sending His Son, Jesus, to die for their sins. It is the love that focuses on the will, not the emotions, not the good intensions of a society, not personal experiences, or sexual desires. And it’s none of these erotic human expressions of love because it’s an expression of his divine nature. It’s a love beyond the limitations of the flesh. Agape love does not come naturally to us because of our fallen nature, we are incapable of producing such a love without God first loving us and helping us to express his love through us. It’s an active expression of love. A giving love, a bridge building love. Did you notice that the disciple does not describe what love is, but what love does?
Right now, take a minute to think of someone you could show God’s love to?
Love can be so powerful. What I want us to ask ourselves now is, “what am I doing to actually show love?”
Caution: We can be deceived by our human knowledge and good intensions, according to the disciple, we can be blinded by the pride of what we know to the point that we never see that we are not really practicing any of it. Get practical. The Apostle Paul said in I Cor. 9:22, I have become all things to all men. He did this to share God’s Love. Not to become an enabler or commit to unholy behaviors and teachings. He did this to express God’s love to a people who had no idea how to accept such a divine love expression.
Overcome evil with agape love. Pray for your enemies. Whatever you can do is worth doing. Just do it and let God reveal his love through those actions.
Prayer:
Loving Father, thank You for loving me so much that you sent Christ to die for me, to be my Savior and Lord. In Jesus' name, AMEN.