1 John 4:7-11 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so 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.”  NASU 

Many, if not most people struggle with what God wants for their lives.  Often, we unnecessarily complicate the issue but the fact that it remains a struggle for many makes it an important issue for the present-day church and believer.  I am reminded of a song from the past recorded by Jackie DeShannon, “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”  The lyrics begin, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  It’s the only thing there’s just too little of. What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  No, not just for some but for everyone.”  That is powerful and true!  We talk about Love but what we call love is not the love the world needs.

When we talk about biblical love we must come face to face with the truth and reality that LOVE is from God.  John informed us that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  That would suggest that love is an incredibly rare commodity in our present world.  John also told us that, the person who does not love, does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE!  Two immediate realities leap forward in my mind as I read this passage.  First, LOVE is from God.  It issues forth from Him.  The imagery in my mind is a living spring a geyser with water gushing forth from it.  Water comes from that spring naturally.  Then, we realize the greater truth that GOD IS LOVE.  He does not have love, He is love and because of Who He is we receive Love from Him naturally.  I may have money but I am not money.  I may have knowledge but I am not knowledge.  I may have wisdom but I am not wisdom.  But, GOD IS LOVE!

The simple reality is that if we say we KNOW and LOVE God that is recognizable by everyone because we LOVE.  If God is living in our hearts, LOVE is living in our hearts and that Love will come forth from us in expression and demonstration.  I believe that it is impossible to KNOW God and not LOVE Him and LOVE others.  God is LOVE and if we have Him, Love is a natural product of our lives.  That is something missing in much of the world today and even in some of the church.  You do not have to pray about LOVE if He is in your heart, Love is in your heart.  Love, biblical love is natural because it is supernaturally deposited and spread abroad in our hearts.

One of the problems is that we make assertions that are mental assents, not experiential realities.  If God is Love, and Love is from God, and we say that we Know God then we Love!  The word KNOW is important because it does not mean ‘know about’ it means ‘intimate personal relationship.’  The word in the Greek means ‘to penetrate.’  Remember Adam KNEW his wife Eve and she conceived.  It was more than recognition of the existence of the other it was a deep intimacy that joins the two as one.  KNOWING GOD is not mental assent it is deep personal intimacy where we are joined as one with Him.  If God has come into my heart and I have received Him, I LOVE naturally and consistently.  I do not have to try to Love, I Love!  The singular most prominent identifier of being a Christian is LOVE.  Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER!”  You can’t fake real love and 1 Corinthians 13 is a beautiful picture of Love in Action and Expression.

Back to my initial thought on finding what God wants for our lives.  I have found, through the years of ministry, and was a participant in this mentality at one time, a fascinating attitude, and mindset.  Many believers are, in my view, overly fascinated about finding the will of God for their lives.  In fact, that is what I was taught upon coming into the Body of Christ and the church, that I need to seek the will of God for my life.  The way it was presented was so mysterious and almost mystical, it seemed that this was a major undertaking that was almost impossible except for the most devoted believers or the super spiritual.  I lived in the joy of knowing God and the frustration of not knowing my purpose in life.  I am not suggesting that seeking the will of God is bad but that our being overly fascinated by it can be detrimental to our walk, work, and warfare as a believer.

Let me give you a clue about the Will of God for your life.  Have you ever considered that it might be something obvious?  Have you ever considered that God just might be directing you to the obvious as His will for your life?  What tugs at your heart?  What is your passion?  What are your talents or abilities?  Could it be that God put those in you because that is what He wanted you to focus on in life?  What a novel concept!  I have found that some people truly believe that if there is some place they do not want to go or something they do not want to do in life, that is exactly where God is sending them and directing them to do.  God is not into masochism.  We get bogged down in the minute and miss the obvious too often and that is tragic.  It is also a scheme of the devil to prevent us from discovering God’s Purpose for our lives and hinders us from entering into the abundance of that life.

I have much more to say on this subject so I will pause for now and pick this up next time.  God, bless you richly as you embark on His mission for your life!