Special Message
Is Love known?
My beloved brothers,
It's very interesting to observe how "love" is a word so frequently spoken or used in so many different contexts, yet so poorly understood in its fullness in most of its appearances. In many cases, love is associated with the deepest expressions of human feelings and intense desires. For example, many who had good parents might affirm, when asked, that the closest expression to what they ideally understand love to be is represented by what they received from their maternal or paternal figures. Others, when emphatically stating that they like something, almost unconsciously say, "I love this," "I love that." But is this really love? Let's reflect on this...
When observing these and other uses of what people understand to be "love", there is something consistent in most of its uses. First, on an imaginary scale to determine its dimension, love is undoubtedly presented in the highest position. In the case of considering what is most sacred, love is also found there. In matters of altruism or selflessness, love is again cited or associated. If the appreciation is of greater purity, innocence, or humility, love also finds its rightful place. Even in the highest degree of sacrifice, love is an undeniable synonym. Why, then, do sensible people so naturally evaluate love in such a way that, in all its dimensions or expressions, such a high regard for its grandeur is so present? Where does this perception, this almost unanimous conviction, come from? There is something very, very powerful behind all this! It is necessary to seek these answers, based on the Word of God.
The Holy Scriptures define what love is, in the sense that we can recognize true love by the way it is expressed. It is written:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NVI)
It is striking to observe that those inferences about what love is for people in general are actually fragments, but true love is expressed in its totality, as presented in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Those fragments or glimpses of what people understand love to be are actually connected to how it is expressed and not to who it is. Furthermore, what people consider in part, the Word of God defines how love behaves in its most complete vision. It translates in all these ways revealed by the Word, integrally and not just in one way or another. For example, love is not kind and resentful. In that case, that would not be a true expression of love.
But, if 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us what love is and what it is not, so that we can also do a self-assessment and realize how much our attitudes express true love, then who would love really be? One certainty from this same Word is that, in addition to such greatness, to express itself in this way, love also is translated into perfection, equity, immortality, and incalculable power. Again, it is necessary to obtain, through the Word of God, what is love, or rather, who is love.
It is beautiful to observe that the Apostle John, whom the Bible itself presents "the disciple whom Jesus loved", he'd been the instrument through which the Holy Spirit revealed to us through his scripture who love is. It's not that the Lord Jesus didn't love all his own; on the contrary, the Word says that He "loved them to the end". But, in a full saint way this Apostle seems to have achieved a deep and special connection with the Son of God, in such a way that it became clear to him, like the most intense light of revealed love, that it's not just about what it is, but about Who Is, and the diagnosis of who truly knows Him. The Holy Scriptures clarify it in the following way:
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8, NIV)
Now, we understand better why all the people who follow the false gods of death, lust, riches, vices, deceit, anger, hatred, revenge, etc., are ultimately so oppressed, finding so much theft, death, and destruction in their lives, but nothing of true life in abundance. They may achieve worldly goals, but lacking Love, lacking the one and only true God, lacking everything! That's why we may hear phrases like: "I would give everything I have to have a little of...".
Creation also testifies that God is Love! Just lift your head and contemplate the beauty, complexity, and perfection of all nature in the heavens, on earth, and under the waters, and that HE has given all this to humankind. Just look deeply into the eyes of a newborn baby! How magnificent is God's creation! And what about the human body in all its complexity, and the possibility of bearing children? What if we think about knowledge, intelligence, skills, and all the other gifts that God gives to humankind? What about the gift of life and the opportunity to live? What about the chances of obtaining salvation and the healings we need from God? What about the Good News of being saved by confessing Jesus as our Savior, believing that He is the Son of God and that He was resurrected from the dead by the power of God, having sacrificed Himself to pay for our sins on the cross? What about the hope of living eternally with God and no longer experiencing evil or suffering? To all this the answer is yes, and in so many other benefits that come from Him, one can also see that God is Love and that He does not wish any creature to perish, but to come to the full knowledge of the truth.
With this understanding that God is love, we can also understand a little more why, even though we are still at enmity with God because of our transgressions and iniquities, He gave us His Son to save us, as it is written:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NVI)
What a marvel! From God only, Who is Love, acting in the highest and most unimaginable degree of perfect love, could come the greatest of all expressions of love. There is no greater expression of love than this! Only Love itself could produce such an expression of Itself. Thus, deep down, we know: “whoever truly loves, gives true love.” We then receive the power to become children of God, yes, children of the greatest Love, when we receive Jesus as our Lord, believing in the Name of the Son of God. Thus, the right choice is made, through faith in Christ, exchanging any debts to God for the price that the Lord Jesus paid on the cross in our place, so that we may follow in Jesus, loving God completely and loving one another, as it is written:
“He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Luke 10:27, NVI)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NVI)
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8, NVI)
Therefore, whoever desires and wants a new life in God, pray this way for the salvation of your soul:
My God, what great love the LORD has for me.
I receive Your Son Jesus, I confess Him as my Lord and Savior, and I do believe in His Name.
I ask for forgiveness for all my sins and injustices that I have committed.
I do believe that the Lord Jesus died, paying on that cross for all my sins and transgressions.
I do believe in my heart that Jesus Christ, on the third day, rose from the dead by Your power.
I ask for the salvation of my soul and that my name be written in the book of life.
In the Name of my Lord Jesus,
Amen.
Glory to God!
Now, beloved who has accepted the Lord Jesus, do not delay and, as soon as possible, go to water baptism. Thus, once baptized in the Name of the FATHER, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go forth to walk in a new life in Christ.
And may God keep you forever in His love,
Missionary Ricardo.
