LOVE
One could easily think that this should be a controversial subject for me, but to the contrary, I have in actual fact learnt a great deal of what love is and isn't through this season of my life. I, as many do, thought that I understood what love is, after all, I experienced that feeling before and when you have children, you get to experience love so more frequently. I'm happy to report that I was not entirely wrong in identifying the emotion of love, I did however miss the fundamentals of love and the biggest type of them all; AGAPE!
STORGE, EROS and PHILIA Love according to the Apostle Paul in
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a [AMP]
"4. Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. 5. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. 6. It does not rejoice in injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. 7. Love bears all things [looking for best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. 8a. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]."
Not sure about you, but just reading the scripture above, I can honestly confess here today that I fail at love more often than not! There is however some good news, once you understand the source of real, true, unconditional love, you will realize that the LOVE the Apostle Paul is referring to, is indeed possible to have and to achieve!
LOVE?
If you are anything like me, you would have heard about God is Love and thought to yourself: "I just don't get it, what does that even mean and why don't I feel it?" I would suggest that many of us have never really experienced real love before and for us to understand it, we must understand the Creator's original design intent for humans, the very reason why we were created in the first place.
Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience]."
DESIGN INTENT
We were wonderfully and fearfully made in the image and likeness of God, for the purpose of an intimate relationship with Him. God made His dwelling place here on earth and spent time with Adam. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and thus created for him, a helper, an equal partner and said that they must rule over all the earth and that they should be fruitful and multiply (that means to enjoy each other in the intimacy of sex and have children). Unfortunately man's weakness were exposed when they ate from the forbidden tree, being deceived by the devil.
I have to pause here for a moment to anyone blaming Eve for the fall of man only:
Yes, Eve was deceived by the devil and chose to eat the apple, but it was only after Adam ate from it, when they realized they were naked and only then God called them. Adam abdicated his responsibility and stood there watching the whole thing unfold and did nothing. Life would probably have looked a whole lot different if they had repented right there and then, instead they blamed each other. The story about Adam and Eve also shows that by the creation of a woman, man had replaced the love meant for God, by loving her more and choosing her over God.
DESIGN INTENT CONTINUED
We were made by God to have a relationship with Him and nothing will ever fill that hole inside us until we do...
"He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God] - yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end."
PERFECT LOVE
In our weakness as humans, we rejected God, from the very beginning and despite our best efforts to remove Him from our lives, He still formed the perfect plan to reconcile us with Him.
"But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
"No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends."
"For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life."
"8. The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] 9. By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] 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 [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God's requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath]."
WHY CALL IT THE PERFECT LOVE STORY?
Imagine a "Being" so powerful, that He spoke the world into creation (just imagine with me, even if you don't believe in God yet) to take on human form, the very creation He made for His own glory, to live in a fallen world full of sin, to experience what it is like being human, to live the perfect sinless life, to be rejected by the very people chosen by God, to be nailed to a wooden cross on Calvary bearing the sins of the world to die a sinners death and to raise from death on the third day, so that whosoever believe in Him, may be reconciled to God and be guaranteed eternal life!
PRAYER
Our loving Father in heaven, we exalt Your Name. We pray that Your Kingdom will come and that Your perfect will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Father, we come to you as sinners today, scarred by our transgressions, filled with fear, shame and guilt. We come to you Father, because we want to reconcile with You. We want to be made free and blameless just as You intended for us to be. We come before you and ask for forgiveness of all our wrong doings, to be washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We ask that Jesus will come into our lives, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to experience your immeasurable love. Help us to love like You do, break our hearts for what break Yours and bind us to thee. Give us eyes to see like You see and ears to hear like You, so that we may hear the cries of others. Give us the strength and the courage to stand up for You and for what is fair and just in Your eyes. I ask that You will fight our battles for us today and that no weapon formed against us shall prosper and that every tongue that rises against us shall be cast down in Jesus' mighty name. Bring down Your hammer on the ungodly and unrighteousness and the devils dominion. We break every chain with the demonic world and we tear down any altar that we may have erected, knowing or unknowing. We declare Your favor, blessings and protection over us, our families and friends. We fully submit to You dear Father and ask that we may have the ability to love You as You love us. We plead the precious Blood of Jesus over us and ask everything in Jesus' Name. Amen and Aman!
Aaron's Benediction: "The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain and guard you]; The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor], And be be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness]; The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life]." Numbers 6: 24-26 [AMP]
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