Love from A Place of Wholeness

by Alexandra Copeland

1 John 3:1(NLT) states, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” For many people, this is a challenging scripture, perhaps more challenging than we’d like. In it, we go from one extreme and overwhelming positive, so wonderful we can hardly fathom it, to another extreme that is equally sad. It is a truth that affirms our sonship rights as children of God, and it also informs us that not everyone knows God. In truth, there are more individuals that haven’t chosen to have a relationship with Him through Christ, than those of us who have. For those who do not chose His love, 1 John 3:1 says that they belong to this world. They don’t know the reality of God’s love, but it is our privilege, right, and obligation as His sons and daughters to try to get them better acquainted with it.

Discern and be Thankful
Whenever we encounter a truth in God’s Word that contains the split reality of both joy and sadness, it will present the sharpening exercise of discernment of light and darkness—good and bad—right and wrong—God’s best and far from it. It also provides an opportunity to be thankful for His grace, goodness, and mercy. There is nothing sadder than a person that doesn’t know our Heavenly Father, and there’s nothing more joyful than a person who does. Luke 15:10 tells us that heaven rejoices when even one sinner repents and is saved through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are privileged beyond measure to be called God’s kids, and the truth of our distinction as His children begs us to make room in our minds for the reality that all people on the earth have not, and will not, chose this remarkably astounding honor.

We get to choose. We can choose to follow the steps of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have our steps ordered by him, or not. God is our Creator. He could have created us to be like angels. Or He could have preprogrammed our minds to only follow His Word, so that we make only good choices and sound decisions, but that’s not how we’re designed. In Genesis 1:26, we learn that God created our spirits from His Spirit. He created us from what He is, which is Spirit (John 4:24). We are created in His likeness. He then made a vessel from the dust of the ground. He breathed the spirit of the first man, Adam, into this vessel, which He called the human body—the flesh. When this happened, Genesis 2:7 tells us that Adam became a living soul.

When most people think of the dust of the ground, dirt comes to mind, but we must remember that dust had no impurities at the point of Adam’s creation. During this place and space in time, everything was filled with God’s magnificent glory. So Adam’s and Eve’s bodies were made from the Father’s glory. It was His Will that everything they did and touched would be filled with His glory as well. This is Heavenly Father’s original intention, and it is what He desires for those of us living today. He wants everything that we touch and do to be impacted by His love. This doesn’t happen nearly as much as it should.

Love is Action!
In John 3:16-17 (NLT), Jesus Christ said, “16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” Heavenly Father has demonstrated that love is the greatest action that exists. He is a God of love, and He has made us, the body of Christ—you and I—the objects of His affection! This is beyond words! He gave His Son to die for us. Like the love of any good parent, God loved Jesus with a love so deep it is unfathomable. Yet, He freely gave Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. He did it for us. It was the most incredibly selfless act of love possible, and it should help us to understand the depth of the Father’s love. Jesus said in John 15:13(NT), “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Because we have his tremendous example, and because we have the Spirit of Christ living on the inside of us, the love we give to others can take on this rich Christ-quality! This was God’s plan all along. He wants us to love from a place of wholeness—the wholeness that we have received from Christ.

Love is not stagnant. It is infectious. It expands, motivates, creates, and changes things. Love is our greatest work! Jesus Christ told the disciples in Matthew 9:37(NKJV), “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” There’s a lot of work to do, but few that are willing to do it. One of the reasons that we don’t step up to the plate is because of what is happening in our hearts and souls. God created us in such a way that we live from the inside out, not the outside in. Our lives are molded and shaped by what is going on in our hearts, Proverbs 4:23 affirms this. Whether it’s wounds from childhood traumas; wrong teaching that has led us to believe the wrong things about God and His goodness, or the hurt of disappointment and broken relationships; if not confronted, these can cause toxic patterns to be repeated. They fester in our hearts and block from us loving, caring, and sharing in a way that pleases God and satisfies the requirement of our faith.

Understand that God has called us to be beacons of His love and light because this is the greatest thing we can be and do. Like a magnet, we can attract wonderful opportunities to shine a light in the lives of others. Romans 12:9(NLT) tells us, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”  Our love must be real and come from a good place in our hearts.  Let’s work to make it better—to do more for the Kingdom of God. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you release the fears that hold you back, so that you are free to hold tightly to what is good. Let the Holy Spirit help you love with the wholeness that can only come from Christ. ■

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. 

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.