1 John 4:7-12 (NKJV): Beloved, let us love one another, for everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 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. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
GOD is LOVE, and He loves us with an everlasting love. His love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it is not proud; His love does not dishonor others; it is not self-seeking; it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. His love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth; it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. His love never fails and He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, JESUS, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This is GOD's LOVE: JESUS CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE. And through Him by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, we are LOVED, SAVED, REDEEMED, FORGIVEN, DELIVERED, CLEANSED, RENEWED, HEALED, TRANSFORMED, ANOINTED, GIFTED and EMPOWERED.
GOD's LOVE is everlasting, unfailing, and His love comes with benefits and blessings, for He is the One who forgives all our iniquities, who heals all our diseases, who redeems our lives from destruction, who crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies our mouths with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's.
GOD's LOVE gives comfort and strength, courage and power, authority and dominion, faith and trust, hope and deliverance, refuge and security, peace and humility, gratitude and praise, protection and provision, a sound mind and a pure heart. And even when we mess up, fall or walk away, GOD in His love forgives us, pursues us and draws us back home, into His family, His Kingdom, His Light, His Truth, His heart, His arms, His Word, His Spirit, and His Son, and He works all things together for our good then because we love Him and are called according to His purpose.
GOD LOVES US so much that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of GOD which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.
GOD's LOVE is not ONE CHAPTER in the PAGES of OUR LIVES, but HIS LOVE is an EVERLASTING COVENANT of GRACE through FAITH found in the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE: JESUS CHRIST. And HIS LOVE is His Will and Wisdom given through the WORD MADE FLESH; HIS LOVE is the HOLY BIBLE--HIS WRITTEN WORD and HIS LOVE LETTER to us; HIS LOVE is His HOLY SPIRIT who comforts and dwells within us, revealing to us the Will, Word, Son, grace and glory of GOD.
And this is the EXPESSION of LOVE: HONORING GOD and HONORING OTHERS, and LOVE in this sense is not an emotion nor is it passive, but this LOVE is a CHOICE and an ACTION. This LOVE is not a secret; it is not silent; it is not hidden; it is revealed through our words AND our actions; it EXPRESSES, DOES, PERFORMS, WORSHIPS, GIVES and RECEIVES, because love in GOD's eyes is SELFLESS, not SELFISH, and it flows in three directions: GODWARD, INWARD, and OUTWARD, first to GOD, next to ourselves and finally to others.
And it all comes down to this in GOD'sWORD: GOD is LOVE, and He abides in us through JESUS by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, and we always have a CHOICE--FREE WILL--and we can CHOOSE to CELEBRATE LOVE and HONOR GOD and OTHERS EVERY DAY, or we can CHOOSE EVERY DAY to DECLINE or REJECT the ROSE of LOVE, which is the GIFT of GOD and the GIFT of GRACE freely given through JESUS CHRIST. And here are the real questions, the test of our faith: Will we ACCEPT and RECEIVE GOD's ROSE of LOVE, or will we REJECT it again? Will we ACCEPT and RECEIVE JESUS, or will we REJECT HIM again?
