GOD IS LOVE Devotion 10 of 34 – Tomorrow:
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love . . . God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:8,16)
"Herein is love . . . that he loved us . . . " (1 John 4:10)
From an earthly point of view, one might develop some reasons why men SHOULD love God. Such reasons might make a lot of sense to some – and, indeed, they are altogether right. On a lower level, one could cite the many temporal benefits that come to men from God. There are food, clothing, and shelter – things the Lord Jesus said the Father knows we "have need of." "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Mat 6:31-32). How gracious it is that such daily provisions come from His hand. Surely, that is reason enough to love Him.
There is also protection, for "safety is of the Lord" (Prov 21:31). We are even told, "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psa 34:7). Ought not men to love God because of such wondrous protection? Who is able to perceive or measure the countless deliverances that have been commanded in their behalf?
And what of the ability to "enjoy" life? Solemnly the rich are reminded, "be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim 6:17). Solomon reminded us the good God has enabled man to "take their portion, and to rejoice in his labor" (Eccl 5:19). Peter referred to seeing loving life and seeing "good days" (1 Pet 3:10). There are the joys associated with marriage, for "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the LORD" (Prov 18:22). The fact that food tastes good, water is refreshing, and all of nature is painted with soothing and pleasant colors, lends itself to making life more palatable. These are certainly good reasons to love God.
On the higher level, the many aspects of His great salvation could be adduced as notable reasons to love Him. Jesus is in the business of seeking and saving the lost (Lk 19:10). Paul referred to Jesus laying hold on him. "I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:12, NASB). How marvelous it is to be sought and, found, and laid hold of by the Lord Jesus Christ!
How wonderful that Jesus has been exalted to "give repentance" to those who so sorely need it (which is every person). Is it not written, "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). Paul speaks of backward souls to whom God "perhaps will give repentance, so that they may know the truth" (2 Tim 2:25, NKJV). The early church accounted for the conversion of the Gentiles by saying, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18). Surely this wondrous display of Divine power and grace is sufficient reason to love God!
There are the countless benefits that are given to every person who is in Christ Jesus. They have "access" to God Himself, and to the grace wherein they can stand (Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; 3:12). They have "an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous" (1 John 2:1). Everything that pertains "to life and godliness" has been provided for all believers "through the knowledge of Him that hath called us" (2 Pet 1:3). "Exceeding great and precious promises" have been given to them in order that they may be "made partakers of the Divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). Are these not reason enough to love God?
All believers are "added" to the church, Christ's body (Acts 2:47), and thus become beneficiaries of the countless gifts and ministries Jesus has placed within that body. This reality is stated very succinctly in First Corinthians. "For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:23). The writings of Moses, all of the Prophets, and the Apostles belong to them, together with the marvelous expressions of the "sweet psalmist of Israel." Proclamations of things required for spiritual life are there. Answers to many of the complexities of life are there. Above these, the Person, mind, and purpose of God are unveiled in these writings, all of which are designed to give certain advantage to the believer. Additionally the world, life, death, things present, and things to come belong to the saints. That is, they all can contribute to our betterment, and none of them can separate us from the love of God. Surely these are reason enough to love God!
What glorious advantages have been given to those who are in Christ Jesus! They have fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3; 1 Cor 1:9). Both the Father and the Son dwell within them (John 14:23). Because they are sons, God "has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into" their "hearts, crying Abba, Father" (Gal 4:6). Their names are "written in heaven" (Luke 10:20; Heb 12:23). All of their temptations and trials are carefully monitored from heaven so that "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor 10:13). They are invited to "in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil 4:6). Is that not sufficient reason to love God?
Indeed, all of those conclusions are true. They are most excellent reasons to love God – and they are only representative of the numberless benefits and advantages that belong to the sons of God. Yet, our text does not say they are why we love God. As excellent as these benefits are, they flow from a well that is profoundly deeper and more satisfying than they themselves are. They are evidences of a greater cause. Thus we read, "We love Him BECAUSE He first loved us." What is more, all of these benefits, from justification to an eternal inheritance, are NOT the primary evidence of God's love. If they were, we would not read "God LOVED us," but rather that God "LOVES us." However, we do not love God because He LOVES us, but because He "LOVED us."
When we consider God's love for us, we are seeing real love. He LOVED us, "even when we were dead in sins" (Eph 2:4-5). As the children of God we are told, "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor" (Eph 5:2). Our text says of God, "He LOVED us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). It is said of God the Father that He "LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (2 Thess 2:16). Jesus told Nicodemus that "God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Speaking of Christ's love, Paul said, "the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal 2:20).
The love of God that compels us to love Him relates to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It is not the love that is exhibited in daily provisions, protection, and spiritual blessings in heavenly places. As marvelous as those are, they do not compare with the love revealed in the sending of Jesus, delivering Him up, making Him to be made sin for us, being made a curse for us, and thereby delivering us from the wrath to come. That is the most powerful love. That is why the Lord's table is the place where we remember Jesus, not the things pertaining to life and godliness that have been given to us. Those are certainly occasions for thanksgiving, but the REASON we love God is "that He first LOVED us."
If, therefore, we imagine that we are above loving our enemies, as we are enjoined to do (Matt 5:44), let us ponder the love of God. When "we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Rom 5:10). That is love! Everything contrary to that is really pretension, and is no love at all. This, as I understand it, is precisely the point the Spirit is making through John in our text.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to so perceive Your love that I will bring joy to You through my love for You.