“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, The Lord is one. Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4).
In our last edition, our discussion centred on the great theme of God’s love in its over-arching, pure and enduring understanding. Today, we shall consider the corresponding, but relative, response of God’s people to His love.
In reality, God’s love demands responsibility on the part of the individual, family, community, institution and nation so loved by God. The volume of love expressed towards God by His people is not measured in material value but in devotional value. We must be devoted to His Being by totally surrendering our soul, body and spirit. So, loving God with our strength and heart involves our mind, our intellect as expressed through our personality, while loving Him with our soul involves our will and our desires. When we love God with all our strength, we invest our energy.
If we really love God with such an active and consuming love, it naturally follows that we will talk about God with our children and pass on the value of this love to subsequent generations. The corresponding implication is dwelling in constant communion with the One whom we love and walking in daily obedience to Him.
In the New Testament, love describes a relationship between God the Father and the Son. Jesus reveals the love of God through His compassionate healing activities. In Mark 1:41, “Jesus filled with compassion, reached out His hand and touched the leper. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately, the leprosy left him and he was cured.”
He showed Himself as a friend of the outcast in order to manifest God’s love.
John declared Jesus’ saving activity as a typical demonstration of God’s love in its climax. Thus the scripture: “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) remains the most profound revelation and expression of love in all ages.
The real object of God’s love is the “new Israel”, the Church. Under this covenant, His love is extended to the individual members of the Church. God’s love is intended to transform man’s natural state of being God’s enemy (Romans 5:10) into loving relationship. In the same way, God expects us to love our fellow humans and Himself.
Friends of God, an attitude of love springs from the Holy Spirit who indwells us. It is truly difficult to show pure love in a godly manner when we are not broken for the Lord. Love is one of the important fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Consequently, the overwhelming influence of the Holy Spirit on a believer is the manifestation of love. So, love is the product of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. The real essence of God’s love is that we might be transformed to be His real children. If God has shown this magnitude of love and we are still in our old nature, then we can be considered not better than infidels.
By His love, we have confidence on the Day of Judgment. You can, therefore, match into your future without fear, because there is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear. The reality of God’s love must be expressed in our relationship with one spouses and children. When we love our spouse with our heart, soul and strength, our children will see our love in action.
The primacy of love is expressed by Paul when he wrote to the Church in Corinth: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). He who loves has fulfilled the law. This is because love is the summary of our responsibility towards God and humanity.
