1 John 4:7-11 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  NKJV

This passage is a much quoted passage.  I recall having a person say to me once, “You Christians quote scripture about love but do not demonstrate it much.”  That hit me squarely in the face and the Holy Spirit took me to the spiritual woodshed to apply the board of education more fully.  LOVE is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God as per the above passage.  Therefore, I must conclude that love is more than we typically understand for we all know some lost people who demonstrate what we call love.

Two things come to mind as I consider this and wish to share.  LOVE is from God. The imagery is that you are standing before a living spring and see it bursting out of the earth. John stands before God and says:  “Love is from God!”  It pours forth from who God is.  It comes from His nature.  Then, he backs up his first assertion saying, “For God IS Love.” 

That is incredibly important to note.  It does not say:  “God has love.”  It says:  “God IS Love.”  I may have money but I am not money. I may have water but I am not water.  I may have food but I am not food.  I may have health but I am not health.  Out from God comes LOVE!  Therefore, if you KNOW God, if you say you LOVE God we will know that because you LOVE!  It is impossible to KNOW God and not LOVE!  That is not up for discussion it is not debatable and there are no exceptions to the rule.  You do not have to try you will because of Who He Is!

If God IS Love and Love is FROM God and I say I KNOW God then I LOVE!  I did not say “know about” God I said “know” God.  The word is the biblical word for intimacy and carries the understanding of penetration. So, if we say we KNOW God it means we have PENETRATED God and He has PENETRATED us.  At that point of intimacy we LOVE for it is the most natural thing to do.  Therefore, we can readily declare that the mark of the Christian is LOVE!  Jesus said:  “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER!”

Most or many Christians are overly fascinated with finding the will of God for their lives.  Many seem to think it is some highly veiled hidden secret that God keeps from us rather than thinking it might be incredibly obvious and easily found.  Oh no!  It has to be mystical and maybe even weird right?  God would surely never tell us to do something that was obvious and what we wanted to do would He?   He would never tell you to minister to your neighbor next door rather He would send you to the bush of Africa.  Nothing wrong with that if that is what God desires but it might be more obvious and closer to home.

Before God springs His will on anyone He prepares the heart and a heart that is not attuned to LOVE cannot possibly fulfill the purpose and destiny God has for that life.  God wants us to become a demonstration and manifestation of HIM.  He wants us to convey Who He Is to the world around us.  So, Who Is God?  He is LOVE!  He is Almighty.  He is Power but first and foremost He is LOVE!  If He were not none of us would have access to Salvation and the Cross would never have been an option.

God is Love and Loves us!  That is a most incredible and amazing truth and one that should put a spring in your step, a song in your heart and a smile on your face.   Let’s look at this a little more but pause for now.  May the Lord be with you as you go through this day!