“These things I command you, that ye love one another.” John‬ ‭15:17‬

This is something that we have no ability to conjure up. We need the forgiveness of Jesus. We need His blood to cleanse us from all dead works. You see, we’ve all been born into sin, and not just sin, but a lie. We’ve been born into a lie, and only the truth can bring us out. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His compassion rings out in every word He said, every deed He did. He spoke to the desolate, He talked with women. He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, and delivered the demonized. And as it says in the gospels, when He saw the multitudes of people, He was “moved with compassion“. Something about the heart of God is missing when we see people for their actions, instead of their created value.

Clean and pure, loved and adored

There is a message returning to the Church. It’s the love of the Father. Our identity as Sons and Daughters of the king. Knowing God is not mad at us. He isn’t ready to destroy us at every mistake we make. In fact, His love is so powerful, that it demands change, and creates it. We deserved death, and God provided life for us at every turn. He constantly came to rescue and clean us from our sin. Even though the Old Covenant was not perfect to wash away sin, God still made available a way for us to know Him. When the New Covenant came, which was perfect, He provided not only eternal life, but a whole new heart and mind.

We were wretches. We did only evil. And God saw our desperate need, He sent His only Son. His one and only, to make for Himself more Sons and Daughters. The king of glory stepped down, became a man, died a sinners death, and rose again by the mighty power of God. Do you see His graciousness? Don’t tell yourself, “but I’ve heard this before.” Forever we will be thanking the Lamb who was slain for us! God’s love takes us into His arms, and He loves us with an everlasting, never-ending love. He describes Himself like this;

“And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:6-7‬

There it is right there. God Himself says that He is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth. What a God we serve. What a mighty God we serve. So, the gospel doesn’t just forgive our sins, (which in itself is incredible) it gives us the love of the Father, (Romans 5:5) the most intimate and powerful love. Why is this love so powerful? It’s disarming. It takes the worst murderer, the most evil liar, the most wretched thief, and changes them. It disarms the evil one from his influence over men. It creates a new heart.

God absolutely loves us to life. You can not over emphasize this. You can only pervert it. Where we go wrong is when we think that God is ok with sin. He is not. His love is more powerful than sin. He absolutely crushed sin and it’s power. And sin shall have no dominion over you. (Romans 6:14)

Love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.

So, we just established that God is truly in love with us. I don’t really need to explain this next part too much. You see, if we truly grasp the love of God, we will be compelled to share it with others. No one will have to pressure us to “Evangelize“. Our life will be an outward expression of the love of God in our hearts.

I ask myself, what if no one opened their mouth about Jesus? I may never have heard about Him. My parents may never have heard about Him. The people in the church today are here because people gave their lives away for love’s sake. If Jesus saw this much value in us, and paid that high of a price, it’s worth paying a price to give Him what He paid for.

On many occasions I’ve found myself seeing someone in pain, knowing I have the answer living inside me, I felt compelled to pray for them. I hate seeing people in pain. Jesus is the answer! His love calls out to the lonely and broken, the sick and demonized. He is ready to free them. The only way to change our world is by the love of God, which is the reason for His power. Only His power can free people, and it is fueled by His love. I want to know Him so well, and show others what He is like. More Lord!

Love never fails

I ask the Lord now, and pray for you reading this, that His love would overtake you. I ask God that when you read this, you are touched by His grace, and He does something new and fresh in your heart. Thank you Lord for saving us. Thank you for your blood and body, Lord Jesus. Create in us a new heart, built for love. You are good, and only do good. Everything belongs to you. Have our lives Lord. Amen.

Be blessed!