“Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.”
This shows us how important love is and how we should be outwardly seeking to live our lives for others so they see Jesus in us. God is love and we should work our hardest to have His qualities. The amazing thing is that we didn't have to do anything for God to send His Son, He already loved us. Look at Romans chapter 5 verse 8 which says, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” He didn't wait until we did something worthy, He counted us as worthy. There are so many places where we see how love is needed and how love for the right thing brings strength. When we love people with the love God shows us, people are open to change. But when we love things and ourselves, people see the world and that doesn't help them see Him.
It says in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
See it is not the money, it the love of money. We must direct our love to God and then people so that Christ is seen in us. This is done by us having a relationship with Jesus and seeking wisdom that can be lived out and applied to our lives. I love what Paul shares in Romans chapter 5 verse 5, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” We don't need to wonder how to love or what to love, the Holy Spirit in us has given us Gods love, we just need to use it. It will get us through our struggles and help us know what to truly love.
At The Rock Church our vision is Loving God, Loving Others, and Serving the World and that is what God's love will show us. We can say we love food, cloths, or whatever other things but unless we have love for God we will be missing out on what true love feels like. In 1 John chapter 4 verse 18 it says, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.” His perfect love is what I want and with the Holy Spirit in me I can have it.
Pray on these next scriptures and remember how much God love all of us. 1 John chapter 4 verses 15-17 which say, “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.” Amen