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LOVE
OF GOD |
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Love is a basic human need. Every person, irrespective of age, needs love to have meaning and purpose in life. A person deprived of love, especially during the growing years, tends to show deviant behaviour in his/her personality. Only a person who has experienced love can also love others. A person deprived of total love is like a tree without water; for soon it withers away.
Divine Love:
The human love that we experience and show to others is partly a reflection of the Divine love. The Bible tells that love comes from God and that God is love. Divine love is pure and unbounded. It is self -less and self-giving. It excels over all human love. We read in the Bible God telling us,
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“… I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.” “Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore ? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you… I have written your name on the palms of my hands…” “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end; I will keep for ever my promise of peace.”
(Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 49: 15b-16b; 54: 10)
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THE GREATEST LOVE:
God’s love is an all-encompassing love. He takes care of every aspect of our life. One of the songs in the Bible depicts this.
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The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.
He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised.
Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me.
Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me. You prepare a banquet for me,
where all my enemies can see me;
you welcome me as an honoured guest and fill my cup to the brim.
I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;
and your house will be my home as long as I live.
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There are many other passages in the Bible, which talk about God’s love expressing his longing towards us human beings. They talk about his care he provides, the protection he gives and the deep concern with which he looks after us.
“Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you”. (1Peter 5:7) “The Lord has promised that he himself will be a wall of fire round the city to protect it and that he will live in all his glory.” “Anyone who strikes you strikes what is most precious to me”. (Zachariah 2:5,8)
Have you experienced such a love of God?
SACRIFICIAL LOVE:
God’s love is a sacrificial love. It is this sacrificial Divine love, which made God to work out a salvation for us from our sins and sorrows. The Divine became a human in Lord Jesus Christ in order to bear the penalty of our wrongdoings (sins). It is written in the Bible,
“The Word (Lord Jesus) became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.” “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour.” (John 1: 14, 3: 16-17)
“…God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s sacrificial death on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven. “ (Colossians 1: 20b) “The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them (John 15:13)
Our response to this Divine Love
How do we respond to such a great love of God? The best response is to accept his love and to reciprocate the same. Jesus said,
… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” (Matthew 22: 37, 39)
The quotations are from the Bible. The references are given within the brackets
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