How Great A Love

See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; (1 John 3:1)

When Martin Luther's translation of the Bible was being printed, a section of type fell to the floor, later to be found by the printer's daughter who, upon reading it, found the words For ‘God so loved the world that He gave’. Excitedly, she showed the section to her mother. Her mother said it didn't make any sense. Gave what? she queried, whereupon the girl responded excitedly, It doesn't matter. If God loves me enough to give me anything, I don't have to be afraid of Him!

Many people in the world think of God as harsh and judgmental; even accusing Him of being indifferent to the world, yet the truth is that He loves us. How do we know that He loves us? Because He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9). The cross is God's bold declaration and demonstration of love. Because He loved us He sent Jesus to suffer the shame and agony of crucifixion, thereby making a bridge across the gulf of wrongdoing that separates us from Him. Jesus was driven by a selfish and loveless world outside the city wall and hung on a cross, and yet, all of this proclaimed that God loves His people.

John writes that we know what love is because He laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). As Christians we are to walk in the steps of Christ, and that means responding to others as He would. His love included all people and was active in their lives. Jesus faced many so-called untouchables in His day; lepers, Samaritans, publicans, prostitutes, ministering to their needs as to any others. That kind of love is the example for every Christian: Love one another, just as I have loved you.

The love of Christ is neither gullible nor naive. If we love God, who is holy, then we cannot love the things that are against Christ. We may hate sin and yet love the sinner. John writes, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (1 John 2: 15-16). Christ's love is exclusive.

His love is also eternal; The man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17b). When you love Christ then you also love doing God's will, for this unites you with His love. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

The word love is probably the most misunderstood word in our vocabulary, applied as it is to everything from food to clothes; from romance to religious experience. Sometimes we all need to be reminded that there is no ‘I’ in love in order to understand its full meaning. In Christ we see the perfect example of true love, something which is desperately needed in this world of ours today.

How sure are we that the world can see that love reflected in each one of us?