God is Love

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
(1 John 4:11-12)

In our world today, loving one another is getting harder and harder to do. It seems everyone has more to scream at each other about than we have nice things to say. I confess, I’ve been drawn into heated arguments with atheists who are vocal about their point of view. Suddenly, in the midst of the opposing opinions, the accusations of ignorance, and the feelings of anger, I realize I’m not showing God’s love for my antagonist. He loves them just like he loves me and I’m supposed to be showing his love to others. Thank God, he loves atheists, because I used to be one of them myself.
Even though I have never seen God, I know he exists because of the love he put in my heart for you and others. There is so much more evidence for his existence, but what he’s given me is the best. Before my salvation, I didn’t like most people. I could only have a few close friends at a time. With the exception of my family, I would basically put up with everyone else. One of the fruits of the Spirit is love. God showed me how to love again and took all those feelings of hatred and dislike away. He filled my heart with love to overflowing.
I always rejoice that I have the spirit of love in my heart. That is the best witness I have for those who do not believe. It’s easy for me to tell someone I love them. However, I have to show an unbeliever I love them before they’ll listen to me about how much Jesus loves them. They must be able to see the joy in my heart before they’ll even consider who Christ is and what he wants to do for them. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it will be my actions that show them what God is all about.
If there is one thing that God is, it’s love. God is love, he’s all about love. Everything he does, from eternity past to eternity future, has love at its core. He created this world because of love. He gave Jesus out of his love for you and me. Jesus washed the feet of the men who would abandon him in just a few hours out of his love. As he hung on the cross, he asked the Father to forgive them because of his love for them. Because he loves me so much, it’s reason enough for me to love you, and for you to love me.




Heavenly Father, you are love personified. You loved us enough to die on the cross for us. Before we even considered you or what you did for us, you loved us. Lord, we are your hands and feet on this earth, and you want us to love everyone. If we want to know how to love others, even the difficult ones, all we have to do is think about how hard we are to love. Even when we were your enemies, you loved us. When our hearts were as hard as stone, you broke through, and now our hearts beat for you. We were destined for hell, but you have redeemed us from that fate. We were living in the darkness of our wickedness, but you led us into the brightness of your love. Lord, help us to show that love to everyone and take away any animosity we have for others. When we have even the slightest hatred in our hearts for another person, your Holy Spirit cannot be in us. If your Spirit is not in us, we are not really saved at all, and your love cannot grow in us. Lord God, we thank you for the work done on the cross for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
Location: Kendall, NY 14476, USA

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