Is the love of God a warm, fuzzy feeling? Is it doing good to others or is love simply an emotion etched upon some Hallmark cards?
God is love and 1 John 4:9 says, ‘In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.’
For us, the love of God is a second chance – it’s His offer to join His spiritual family and live forever in eternity. God’s love is divine love which many can never fathom. It’s different from the way we love.
Like a husband’s love for his wife with the flowers he brings her, the words of encouragement he offers, and dying to himself in doing household chores. As a parent, the love for your babies when doing night feeds, preparing meals for the family, and teaching them the ways of God. As a friend, it’s praying with them when they’re anxious, hanging out together or babysitting.
Love is a uniquely human trait that cannot be explained away as the end outcome or the result of some evolutionary process. Jesus prayed that His disciples would know the full measure of the love of God. We need it for ourselves and it empowers us to do what’s impossible in our human nature – to truly love others.
The love of God is to be lived as well as learned. It really comes down to His immeasurable grace. We’ve been set apart not because we’re better than anyone else but because we’ve experienced the love, grace, and mercy of God. His love cannot be defined or exhausted by words, but God’s love can be known. As His chosen vessels, we’re to share it with others.
Reflecting our lives in the light of the Great Commission, that in loving we’re in fact making disciples for Christ. You may have heard this phrase – love God, love people, make disciples. And loving others starts when our minds are illumined to understand and believe the things which are upon His heart; the mission He gave us.
I’m thankful for our wonderful auditorium, offices, programmes, services, and all the things that help us stay obedient and close to Christ, but these are really scaffoldings that can hide the true beauty of the Church of Jesus Christ. And we all can have a tendency to get emotionally attached to the scaffolding we’ve grown accustomed to.
We must not mistake the scaffolding for the main mission, and if we focus on growing in our love for God and people, we can make disciples. When God becomes our greatest adoration and people become our primary concern, we’ll desire to connect people to God through Jesus.
10 months of this year have passed so quickly and, because of Covid-19, many of us have been bound at home for most of these months. Living in a fast-paced world, it might have appeared like things significantly slowed but has it really? The clock is still ticking, the business of the day continues, and the economy must be supported.
Has loving people and making disciples become of lesser value and priority because our social interactions have been significantly limited? Above all, is the Church alive and manifesting the love of God by revealing that we can live through Him?
In Christ, I rejoice to say, “Yes, we can!”
When the Circuit Breaker was in place, we wondered how the Church would look. I realised that it was just the removal of scaffoldings that hid the beauty of Christ.
I’m thankful for all the staff and members of Cornerstone Community Church and our Community Services, who reached out to those affected by this pandemic – praying, offering emotional support, physical aid, financial assistance, food deliveries, and building bridges of love to the vulnerable and migrant workers. I’ve witnessed more acts of kindness, the passion and compassion brought to light in this season than in times past.
Let’s continue to fix our eyes on Christ and for His Church to increase in greater glory – ‘That you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.’ Colossians 1:9-12
