Have you ever been hopeful because someone loved you? I have. Have you ever lost hope because someone stopped loving you? I have. But wait a minute, can someone truly love you then suddenly stop loving you? Is love that fickle? What is true love? Where does love come from? Is it just an emotion that comes and goes with the flows of life? Let us find out together what God says about love?
How do I even have the ability to love? I believe my ability to love comes from God himself. I receive my ability to love from the Holy Spirit It is one of the gifts. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV) It is not surprising to me that love is the first one on the list. It is I believe it is the most important of the gifts and that is why it is first on the list. I also believe the gift of love allows me to better exercise all of the other gifts listed. You may be asking about those who do not know the Holy Spirit and do not have Him dwelling in their hearts, can they love? I believe that they can love to an extent but I do not believe they can fully and completely love with out it. Because God is love all of His human creation has the ability to love to an extent. In order to receive the gifts from the Holy Spirit you must first get to know Jesus. If you do not know Jesus the true source of hope does not abide in you. Learn how to get the hope you need. Learn how to know Jesus.
This complete kind of love I am talking about is love that is not just a feeling. It is rather a deep commitment to someone that will never end as 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” (ESV) So as some in the world say when they want a divorce, “I or we fell out of love” So obviously their definition of love does not agree with God’s definition, which is not surprising.
I also believe that love only applies to relationships. It does not apply to things. I also believe that love does not have to be reciprocated after all as John 3:16 say, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV) Combined with Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (ESV) we can see that it was the whole world he loved and sent His Son. Since it is very clear that the whole world does not love God then love can be a one-way action.
I also learned that love is very special and it brings me hope because when I do something bad to someone who loves me that it will ultimately be okay. 1 Peter 4:8 tells me so, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (ESV)
Join me in understanding how to truly love others and giving them hope by accepting and using the gift of love that the Holy Spirit has given you when you know Jesus. Learn how to know Jesus. Understanding that true love comes from God. It is not just a feeling it is a whole hearted deep commitment to someone else that will never end. It is this kind of true love that brings true hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs you can find them here.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google
