“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
Dear Ones:
In Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6, He uses the phrases: “…Our Father who IS in Heaven…,” and “…Thy will be done in earth, as it IS in heaven.” (v.9, 10) Why does He speak of what should occur on earth, as it IS in heaven? It is because “heaven” is the point of reference for understanding what is of God, as opposed to what is of this earth, and man. The application of this truth is evident. We are to seek first the “kingdom of God and HIS righteousness.” (Matt. 6:33) In every consideration of every matter “on earth, ” it is imperative that we seek to know the truth of the matter from heaven’s standpoint. In the case of love, there is no exception.
The overall thrust of the message communicated to us in the first letter of John, is that of communion with God, walking in the light, abiding in Christ, and He in us. Out of such a communion there is to be the unveiling of the love of God, that which is the greatest expression of the essential nature of God. John writes of this fact: “God IS love.” (1 Jn. 4:8) To KNOW Him is to love Him, and to know the very love of God. The question then arises: “If we are to have heaven’s perspective and knowledge of the love of God, then what is it, as opposed to that of man?”
When the Lord Jesus, after the resurrection, asked Peter, “Do you love Me,” He used a word in Greek that spoke of loving with the Love of God. Peter honestly responded that he did not love the Lord Jesus with this love, as his “love” had failed him. So, what is the first thing that we need to see and grasp with regard to heaven’s perspective on the subject of true love? John puts it so very clearly: “For love is OF God.” (1 Jn. 4:7) When we read Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers, he writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” (5:22) The first, and hightest expression of the life of Christ revealed in the believer by the Spirit, is love…the very love of God, of heaven. It is not man-made, and cannot be derived from anything that man is or can do. It is God-given by the Spirit of God, of Christ.
When Christ came to dwell in the hearts of believers, beginning at Pentecost, a whole new dimension of the experience of God came about, in particular, with regard to the knowledge of the love of God. With the authority and power of Christ given to the believer, this “love of God by the Spirit” made possible the loving of God with the whole heart, and loving our neighbors as God intended it to be. It also made possible a loving of all the brethren in the body of Christ. Here is the true liberty in Christ, loving God first, and then loving others unconditionally, seeking their highest blessing and well-being. Paul made this ever so clear by writing: “…by love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13)
What is the motivating power of love? It has to do with the worth that love places upon its object. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, possess the greatest worth that we, or the totality of creation, could ever attribute to Him. That worth is immeasurable, unfathomable. What is the worth of a soul, the creation of God for whom Christ in His love, died? It too is immeasurable, incalculable.
Dear Father, it is in the measure that we understand this matter of worth, and believe You, that this love will be revealed in us, IN EARTH, …as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad