This special day is set aside for those in love and to observe this day is fine in its place. However, my question to you is “What is love?” This word “love” is used in many situations and depending on who is saying the word can mean many different things. In most cases, this word is misused and misunderstood. For this reason, I want to share with you today “The God Kind of Love.”
This is how Vine’s Expository defines the God kind of love. The Greek word for “God’s love” is agape. This word a-g-a-p-e means “the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being [God] towards entirely unworthy objects [sinful man], producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver [God], and a practical love towards those [Christians] who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”
First and foremost, God is love. According to First John 4:7-8, love is His nature, His essence; not an emotion that is driven by feelings. God’s love for Mankind is the highest kind of love that is divine, unconditional, does no harm, transcends, and persists regardless of the circumstances of life.
Secondly, God’s love described in First Corinthians 13:4-8, never fails. It never fails because it is the essence or nature of our Living God. It is Who God is all the time. Our God is not a man that He should lie and He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. We can depend on His love to protect and provide for us in the good and bad times.
Thirdly, God’s love is an action, not merely a beautiful word to say or hear. God tells us in First John 4:9-11 that He demonstrated His everlasting love for us by giving His Son, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate sin offering to provide Mankind deliverance from the penalty of sin which is eternal death in hell. Further, in John 15:12-13 we are instructed to show this same love toward one another which is based on Jesus’ sacrificial love toward us.
Finally, this God kind of love can be exercised in our own lives. It is not enough to just tell our Lord that we love Him. It starts with our confession of love but it should not end there. If you want to show your Living God that you truly love Him you must be obedient to His Word (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; First John 5:3; and Second John 6). Then you must seek the welfare of others, so stop gossiping, lying, and hating on one another (Romans 15:2-3; and First Corinthians 10:33-11:1). Instead do good to all that many will profit from your loving words and actions (Galatians 6:10; Titus 3:8; and Romans 12:13). Amen.
If you would like more information on this topic of the GOD kind of love, please visit our Radio page to listen to my teaching titled, “The Gift of Love.”