Don't Make God’s Love Disappear

 

1John 3:16-17(The Message)
“This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.”

Looking at the condition of our world right now, you might ask, “Why have we strayed so far away from God’s love?”  Why do problems from racial tension, division, and greed throughout the world persist? What’s the cause of all this chaos and suffering? Even in our own personal lives there are dilemmas stemming from insecurities, emotional and relationship issues, and financial challenges. It can seem as though drama and darkness are coming at us from all fronts. This may be causing many of God’s people to doubt His love, and because of this doubt, they are walking around in sadness, darkness, and fear. God doesn’t want this for any of us, and He has provided a way of escape through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In God’s Word, He tells us that the times will be perilous and that satan will blind the minds of many people. This is why chaos and suffering continue. Many people are rejecting the light of God’s love, and they are being blinded by evil and used by satan. God did not keep this a secret from us. He tells us about the future so we will not be tossed about, doubtful, or confused when His prophecy comes to pass. In Ephesians 6:10-11(NLT), He commands, “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”

A person can’t rise above what they don’t know. In other words, we can’t walk in knowledge that we don’t have. God commands us to read and study His Word so that we learn about Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. When we know His love through Christ, we can then walk in that love. We can put it on in our minds and hearts, and God’s love will then become a part of us.

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must know and trust God’s great love for us. 1John 4:9-10(NKJV) tells us, “9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God invites us to come and live inside His love where His blessings and goodness abound. His way of relating to and working with us is always about the greater good, and when we accept His Word and love by faith, we come into agreement with Him to perform the extraordinary in our lives.

1John 2:9(NLT) teaches, “If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.” Our relationship with God through Christ is a partnership. He has empowered us through His indwelling Holy Spirit, and this power has no limit. Holy Spirit power is activated in us through God’s love, and therefore, we must be active in His love to live through His power. Living through God’s love and power is our privilege and responsibility, and this means we can’t sit idly not knowing what to do. Our call is to love people with the love of God, and to be a blessing to others as we are led by God’s Spirit.

Many people are searching for love. They want a partner to walk with them through life. They want a significant person that will have their backs, and their intention is to reciprocate this devotion, loyalty, and support. This significant partnership of cycling love and support is very meaningful to having a fulfilling life. So, we love marital partnership and many of us want it. Not having this significant person in our lives makes some individuals feel lonely and sad. They’ve been single far longer than they’d like. And because they don’t know God’s Word, some think this is because God is punishing them, or they think He doesn’t want to bless them with a significant other. This simply isn’t true.

God doesn’t withhold blessings. He desires us to be blessed and happy infinitely more than we desire it for ourselves. Psalm 84:11(NLT) declares, “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” God wants to bless us, and this is why we must live in His love, because that is where His blessings and goodness abide.

Many of us, particularly single individuals, make a common mistake. It’s the error of underestimating God’s allegiance to seeing us grow in His brand of love. Our Heavenly Father is overwhelmingly committed to our growth in His love. He is committed to seeing evidence that we have a solid foundation of knowledge about the example of Christ and that we’re actually loving people through the love of Christ. This must be present and anchored in our lives way before romantic love comes into play. To switch this up can lead to heartbreaking consequences. Jesus Christ is our blueprint. God has commanded us to live love through Christ, and His commitment to this never waivers.

We have made the mistake of thinking that romantic love checks off all the boxes and we’re good to go once we find a person we can love in that way. This is an error that must be corrected. Romantic love is yummy, but it isn’t enough to express the love of God in faith. This is why so many relationships fall apart. God’s love is real love. It’s the glue, and if we miss this, we’ll miss a whole lot.

Romantic love disappears and can do so with such a speed that it leaves many people with devastating heartache, but God’s love should never disappear from our hearts. It’s our responsibility to make sure it doesn’t. If more of us took the responsibility to walk in God’s love as seriously as we should, the world would be a very different place. There must be evidence in our lives that we are loving God’s way, regardless of whether we’re attracted to someone physically. Romantic love will always be further down in the scope of importance. God’s love must be primary, and when it is, the things that are important will fall into place, and God will keep us in His peace and blessings continually.■

Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Don’t Make God's Love Disappear”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.