"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." I John 4:7
Ladies, let me ask you a question? Have you ever thought about giving one of your children or your only child, to die for anyone, least of all for the world? But God gave His only begotten Son to die for man's sins, because the shedding of blood was required to cover man's sins (Leviticus 17:11). "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Colossians 1:14). I looked up the definition for the word, "love" and this is what I found: "Man's love is an intense feeling of deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, an attachment, endearment, devotion, adoration, worship, passion, ardor, desire, lust, yearning, infatuation." The one I want to use today is, "an intense feeling of deep affection". For example, babies fill parents with intense feelings of love, and God's love is all of this towards us. We all know love is a basic necessity in man`s life. We all need to be loved in order to live a prosperous and healthy life. But God's love is something Supernatural. Man have their own definition of love, or what love is. I gave you man's definition of love by Webster. Ladies, let me ask you what does love means to you? Man says love is a variety of feelings, emotions and attitudes. For some, love is more than just being interested physically in someone else; it's an emotional attachment. Love is a feeling that a person has for another person. The basic meaning of love is to feel more than just liking someone else; it's a bond between two people that they share. Now with that in mind, what is God's Love? You see, God's love is much different than man's definition: but first, let's see what else man has to say. Man's love stems from a sexual attraction to another person. We love people because we're attracted to them and they make us feel good; that's a conditional love, because man fulfills a condition we require before we can love them. Man's love is mercurial, meaning "it's subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind", simply meaning that it's emotional, and can change from one moment to the next.
Well now, let's talk about God's Love... God's love is unconditional. His love is known as affection without limitations, or love without conditions which is true love, called altruism. It's having an unselfish concern for the wellbeing of others, or complete love. The closest example we can have of God's love, is the love that a parent has for his/her children; because we continue to love them through good times and bad times and it doesn't stop, even if they don't live up to our expectations. We make a choice to love our children even when we consider them unlovable: our love doesn't stop. This is similar to God's Love for us. God also defines His love in the act of giving. This reminds me of one of my favorite uncles: he never said he loved me, he just gave me gifts all the time. But God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He sacrificed His only Son so that we who put our faith in Him will not spend eternity separated from Him. This is unbelievable and It's an amazing love; because man is the one who rejected God, but it's Jesus who mended the separation, not only through His intense personal sacrifice, but by His Blood. Jesus' Blood has power! It took a blood sacrifice to mend the separation between God and man and not just any blood would do; it took pure blood and the only Man qualified was Jesus, because He was a pure Man. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One. All we have to do is accept His gift of love for us. I encourage you to read Romans 5:8 and John 3:16 to get a clear understanding. We find that God placed no conditions on His love for us. God didn't say, "When you get it together I will love you". He didn't say, "If you promise to love Me I will sacrifice My Son for your sins". Well no, He didn't. Out of love for us God sent Jesus to die for our sins and Jesus loved us so much, He willingly died for our sins, and gave His blood to mend the separation between man and God. Jesus knew that it was God's gift of love for man for eternity, because God loved us and wants man to know His Love is unconditional even though we are unworthy and sinners: the good thing about it is we didn't have to beg ,or pay or even get clean, or make promises to God before He would give us His Love or to experience His love. God gave His love freely to man from the beginning of time. God has always existed and He made man in Their image. Who are They you say? God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is so good. Because of the love God has for man, He did all the giving and sacrificing a long time ago before man was aware that we needed His love. Ladies let me ask you this: How many times have you said to someone, "If you love me you would do this for me or that for me." Or you may have said, "If you love me you wouldn't do or act like that."... to get what you wanted from your husband, children, or other people. Well guess what, I have done that, I'm guilty of it, I've done it many of times in my life to get what I wanted. You see, I've always put stipulations on my love, because of how I was feeling. Can you imagine if it was God, who had done that to man? Well no, I can't and I thank God His Love for me isn't like that. I thank God I don't have to be like everyone else to receive His love. God loves saints and sinners alike, no matter what, simply because God is love, pure unfaltering love and His Love is unconditional and different from man's; it isn't based on feelings and emotions, it's a pure love. God doesn't love us because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is the Real Deal! His love is genuine with no strings attached to it. God created us to have a loving relationship with Him. He gave man a Sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, so that His Blood could restore us back to Him Who created us in the first place. Thank You, Jesus, for Your unselfish sacrifice for man given out of Your unconditional, unmerited, unlimited, love. There is no greater love!
