Love

1 John 4: 19 - 21, We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. NKJV

Being a child of God and living in this world can be challenging at times. The reason life is often difficult is because there is a war going on between the kingdom of God and the forces of darkness. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4 that Satan, the god of this world, has blinded those who do not believe the gospel. Consequently, Satan has gained power over the minds and actions of the lost through their rejection of Christ; and he uses this power to war against God's children.

The world cannot love like a Christian does because they're not born of God. Therefore, since they don't love God, they don't adhere to the teachings of Christ. We, on the other hand, are born of God and strive to live according to the Word of God. However, what do children of God do when we're commanded to love those who hate us? We must turn to the words of Jesus and draw our strength from Him. In the book of John, He promised that He wouldn't leave us alone in this world, but would send us the Holy Spirit. Through our relationship and communion with the Holy Spirit, He gives us both power over this world and the power to love those who may not reciprocate our love.

According to John's teachings in today's scripture, our love for others is an overflow from our love for God. The more we give ourselves to God, the greater our capacity will be to love those who may reject and despise us. God is the source of all love. The Holy Spirit is the river of His love that flows out of our innermost being; and finally, we are the fountain in which the flow is released upon others we come in contact with. It's possible to love the world in the same way that God does, but it is impossible to love to that degree without first giving ourselves to love God.

Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ, who gives us the strength. All God needs from us is our willingness; He can then pour His love through us. We know that Jesus had the power to love His enemies because He didn't call down twelve legions of angels to destroy those who were torturing Him before He died. Instead, in His weakest moment as a human, He prayed that the Father would forgive them. He was willing to allow the love of the Father to be demonstrated through Him to a lost world. How great is our God... and His Son!

No Greater Power than God's Love,
Pastor Asa Dockery