Are You In Love?

L-O-V-E… Everyone talks about it, everyone wants it, people sing about it, but few really know the reality of love.

Consider this: Can you think of any reason at all why God should love us? What have we ever done to cause God to love us? The answer? Nothing! Knowing ourselves as we do, when we think about whether God should love us, we will come up with no good reason at all! As humans, we love for the most selfish of reasons.

-We love somebody else because of how they love us.

-We love others because we see things we admire or respect.

-We love others because of what they do for us that may please us in some way.

Aren't you glad that God doesn't think like we think?

All of these earthly reasons affect how we see and comprehend God and His love for us. They can affect how we return His love, back to Him.

God doesn't love us because we deserve it. He loves us because….HE LOVES US!

This is the only unconditional love in the world!

Most Christians in our world miss this profound, simple and completely biblical thought.

Make up your mind that because God says you are accepted in His beloved…that He means it and you ARE accepted. God's acceptance is not what any of us once, hell-bound sinners deserve or what we may think or feel we are worthy of. The Truth in the Word of God says… it is so!! He has made us accepted.

Ephesians 1:4-6 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, WHEREIN HE HATH MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED."

I cannot explain the love of God for us. We don't have to "do it right" in order to be accepted. Just because you fail somewhere along the line in your daily walk with the Lord, doesn't mean that He gives up on you and abandons you. That is human reasoning! That is what we do to one another! Our churches are full of people who "love" in that manner. That is not Christ-like love. Failure cannot break your relationship with your Heavenly Father. It can affect your fellowship with your Heavenly Father for sure, but He is still your Heavenly Father!

Psalm 103:13-14 "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."

Dear Friend, let your love for your Saviour abound! Live each day in the love of God!

Stay in love with Jesus…

Grab hold of this Truth… You don't have to earn His love! Too often, in our times of disappointments with earthly friendships, we put God in the same boat and think that He too will turn His back on us. That is a lie straight out of the pit and brings no glory to the One who has already stated that we are "accepted in the beloved".

The first and greatest commandment reveals what brings true devotion to God and tells us how to love.

Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

Loving God is true devotion to Christ! All the "Christian duty in the world won't sustain us…but love will!

When you get Mark 12:30 on straight, it won't be hard to love everyone else correctly.

Mark12:31 "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

We can have all the right Bible doctrines in our church but if we don't love right we will never have the power of God or revival. Our lost neighbors, family and friends depend on us being in love with Jesus and each other. They will know we are Christians…by our love.

Examine whether you have accepted God's love for you…personally.

Examine whether you are loving others with a pure heart…fervently.

Examine whether you are living like you are "in love" with the Lord…daily.