A Deeper Understanding of God's Love
“All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.” 1John 4:15 (NLT)
by Alexandra Copeland
There exists today an unprecedented and
mounting pressure to choose sides; to weigh in on either or
both of the two most dreaded of all subjects, politics and
religion. As Christians, we are God’s conduits; His hands,
His feet, His voice, but we have all leaned so heavily on
the world’s sustenance that it has drastically watered down
our effectiveness. God’s love is the most powerful
instrument in the universe, yet there is no human it seems
in our time that can wield it strong enough to silence the
divisiveness of this present day. Could it be that there is
no pulpit from which a light shines so bright and a voice
rings so pure, and for which there is such an exciting
optimism that it smashes the isms of darkness and prejudice
to smithereens?
Corporately, the body of Christ should
be unifying, but we see so little signs of it. Those of us
for whom a quiet and peaceful existence is key, are used to
letting our faith be the fire that blazes a trail. We’ve not
wanted to raise our voices in opposition, and we’ve tried to
be ever so careful not to let our personal opinions
interfere with the truth of God’s Word. We have taken for
granted that those of whom we’ve placed our confidence will
do okay by us. We’ve put way too much trust in individuals
that are flesh and blood just as we are. To them we have
relinquished haphazardly those things that should have been
reserved for God in Christ alone. In part, the end result of
doing so is what we have before us today.
There are those who believe the road is
too crooked and corrupt to make straight now, but this is
not our call to make. We all deserve condemnation, yet Jesus
Christ said in John 3:17 (NKJV),
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus Christ
is yet still our hope, if we will place the full brunt of
our trust in him.
1John 4:15 (NLT) tells us,
“All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them,
and they live in God.” This is the most basic and
beloved tenet of our faith. It is the confession that Jesus
is the Son of God, and that he came down from the throne to
demonstrate for us a life of God’s love. He sacrificed his
very own life for us, and he is the way to connect to
Heavenly Father, so that we might have the Spirit of the
Living God abiding within us. This amazing truth will always
center our hearts and minds, so that we are poised to be led
of God by the Spirit within.
Fear has driven us to derision, and we
continue to give it room and make it cozy and comfortable.
We can no longer let the devil’s chief weapon gain against
us. The spiritual work before us is daunting, yet doable and
expected by God. It is to lay down any arrogance and sin
that we might have, so that God’s correction will have its
perfect way in our souls. The Father’s love must go deeper.
The seed of His Word has landed upon our hearts, but it
needs the kind of moisture that only our total surrender can
provide.
Through the Apostle John, God goes on
to tell us in 1John 4:16
“We know how much God
loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is
love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in
them.” If we ask ourselves honestly if we are truly
living a life of God’s love, few of us will have a
resounding ‘yes’. The world is in far too bad a shape, and
if there were more of us living God’s love, it would not be
nearly so bad. The good news is that through God’s love we
will forever have hope. Indeed, God lives within us, and now
is the time to turn off those things that have hindered us
in the past.
Verse 17 says,
“And as we live in
God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid
on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence
because we live like Jesus here in this world.” In and
of ourselves, we lack entirely what it takes to live like
Christ in this world, but with his Spirit abiding within us,
we are able to live in God to the point where our love is
perfected day by day. We can switch on and dial all the way
up to such a level where our love for Christ, others, and
ourselves expels all remnants of darkness and fear.
1John 4:18 (NLT) tells us,
“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all
fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and
this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect
love.” It cannot be lost on us that God has a goal in
mind. It is that we are built up to a place where His peace
and love will abound in us when we need it most. We are not
there yet, but the layers have been pulled back. Our fear,
as dastardly and ugly as it is, has been exposed. God has
allowed us a mirror, and it is reflecting all the things
that none of us care to see, but see we must.
We’re hearing all kinds of excuses and
reasons why our world is in such deep turmoil, and most of
them absolve us, as God’s children, of any responsibility.
The truth is that we’ve not walked in God’s love according
to His Word, and it’s now time to come clean. Perfected love
demands that we dispense with this fear of punishment—of
telling ourselves that we’re pleasing God when we know good
and well that we’ve skimped on our responsibility to His
agenda.
When everything is said and done, the
bottom line is that all of us are guilty in some way of
failing to respond to God with love, gratitude, faith, and
the truthful worship that He deserves. It’s time to repent,
to seek His face like never before, and pray that it’s not
too late to alter the course we’re on. If we remain on it,
catastrophe is inevitable, but if we surrender completely to
God in every way, the Spirit that indwells us will lead us
to His heart. There we will find rest, along with a renewed
spirit, a greater commitment, and a deeper understanding of
His love. ■
Scripture taken from the New King
James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT)
are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights
reserved.
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