Love

 


One of the biggest challenges in the mind of man, especially in these times in which we live, is the ability to accept that their Father in heaven loves them.
The perennial question always seems to be, "If God is really a loving God, than why.....?" You can fill in the rest of that sentence with standard comments that challenge the concept of a loving God. The voices do not question the existence of God, but they question that He loves.
In 1 John, the writer puts this issue very simply: God is love (1 John 4:8, 4:16).
Moses had a request of God. He wanted to see God's glory. The LORD hid Moses in a cleft of a rock, and passed by him, covering Moses with His hand, so Moses could see the back of the glory of God, as the LORD walked past him. As the LORD passed by Moses, He made this declaration about Himself and His name:
"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."  (Ex. 33:6-7).
The LORD went on to proclaim that, for the sake of justice, He does not clear those who continue to walk in their guilt.
When we look at this scene with Moses, where Moses' deepest desire is indulged by the LORD, we can feel the gentle love and tolerance of God towards this man. As the LORD proclaims the character of His holy name, He proclaims the quality of His love. Even His name is love.
The enemy of man's soul has always goaded man to question the love of God, especially as that love is expressed through the promises and commands of God. The enemy desires to keep us separated from the love of our Father. If he can cause you to separate yourself from the Father's love, then he becomes successful in separating you from the essence of God's being.

There is a deep expression of the love of God in Isaiah 49:14-16:
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,
and my LORd has forgotten me."
The LORD answers saying,
"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;..."

As Isaiah has written above, our Father's hands are forever pierced with our names. He carries this inscription forevermore. When He raises His hands, He sees the permanent evidence of His steadfast love for us. Yes, it was His Son, Jesus' hands that were pierced in the flesh, but Jesus only did what He saw his Father doing, and Jesus fulfilled the prophetic word of Isaiah above. We also remember that although Jesus is an individual member of the Godhead, part of His prophetic name, according to Isaiah 9:6-7, is " Mighty God, and Everlasting Father". So, Jesus cannot be separated from the being of our Father.

Our Father's love for us, and His nature of love, is expressed in His giving. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son {This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased}, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 1 John 4 tells us that the love of God is manifested toward us in that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.
1 John 3 begins by saying "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children (sons) of God."
Jesus taught that if our earthly fathers love us enough to give us good things, how much more will our heavenly Father give to us. Love is expressed by giving. If we think we have a loving heart, as the heart of God is, yet we resent giving, we have a need to be reunited with the love of God, because the love of God is expressed in His giving.
1 John also instructs us, as Jesus did, that if we are truly a part of the love of our Father, than we must also love one another. If we are continually involved in strife and offense with others, then we must be reunited and reacquainted with the love of our Father. Our Father even expresses His love for the wicked when He says that He brings sun and rain to them as well for their benefit and provision. If we are truly acquainted with the love of our Father, then this same love must be resident in us:

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust."
                                                   Mat. 6:44-45

Having this same love in our hearts makes us His sons. This is what the earth is groaning for: the manifestation of the sons of God.
In Isaiah 59, the people are involved in the religious activity of fasting. The LORD questions the value of their fast because of the motive behind it. It is a selfish, and self-righteous motive that He exposes. He goes on to describe the kind of fast that touches the heart and purpose of God-a fast that is poured out of a character of love, giving and charity, in the same manner as the LORD. He says that it is this kind of fast that touches His heart, and brings healing and glory.
In 1 Cor. 13, the Apostle Paul said that no matter how spiritually gifted we are, no matter how powerfully we prophesy, no matter how deep our knowledge, wisdom and understanding are of the things of God, if we are not ministering out of a fountain of our Father's love from within us, all of those spiritual gifts are without value. What a great stumbling block that must be to those who are not acquainted with the Father's love. In order to move in this supernatural love, we must know that it is there, and that our Father pours out that love everyday into our lives. It is the very fountain of life within us.

Do not doubt the love of God, nor allow the enemy to rob you of this wonderful love. Do not be so caught up in the activities of religion and this world, that we forget that every word and act of God is conceived in love.

Our Father is love.

"God's Love Letter For You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpSE3eZTCNo

"Love Has Come"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIIAf2lS_Us