True Love

Love can be whimsical like the wind; it can come and go. But if there were no such thing as true love, we would exist forever in fear of each other. But because there is true love, there is a place where there is no will to power and all fear of each other is gone.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, 1 John 4:18

What is this love? 1 Corinthians 13 describes it.

 It is a love that

 “is kind, it is patient; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”

It is a love that excels all human abilities and capacities.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

This love that the apostle Paul writes to us about is not something one acquires; it comes to one from beyond this world.

The Apostle James explains that its source is not to be found in this world. anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:5. These are strange words considering that we must live in this world and interact with each other in order to survive.  Can you imagine a world without those who are responsible for maintaining order? We need the gifts and abilities of each other to make this a meaningful world.  Those who can heal from disease are essential. We need words; we need methods of communication. All these we need in order to do and to be for each other.

But none of these can calm the fears, the uneasiness, and the doubts and mistrust that plague every relationship in which we are involved. This has happened because we have turned away from God. But God has never turned away from us. Lost in our own sins and unable to merit God’s love, God has never stopped longing for our allegiance to Him.

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? James 4:5

This is the wonder of the third Person of the Holy Trinity.  It is a spiritual power placed in our hearts that is striving to acquire the same love for Him on our part as He bears for us. It is the Spirit which God planted in us, the Spirit that has made His dwelling place in us. The Holy Spirit loves us as (in one sense) distinct from that of the Father or that of the Son.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:26-28

These are marvelous words, but how can this be? We are born with a sin nature that makes us rebellious against God. And given this nature that we are born with, we will never on our own choose God.

And as the apostle Paul says, how can we know the purposes of God if one does not believe in Him?  Before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about Him. In order to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. And before someone can go and tell them, someone must be sent to tell them about God. Romans 10:14-15 paraphrased.

Paul writes about the groaning of the Spirit. Long before we even hear of God or desire to know Him, there is a spirit within us longing to make connection with us, and we with God. We must not grieve this spirit.  

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30

As we hear and read the Word of God the Spirit accomplishes its work within us.  Therefore, as we live in the world and serve God with our talents and abilities, God abides in us and we in Him. There are times when one looks at the world and wonders if one is making a difference at all.  These words from 1 Corinthians 13 should serve as encouragement. This love that comes to us from God will never fail us. Therefore  

Everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. It is our faith that wins the victory against the world.
1 John 5:4

Prophecies will end; knowledge will cease to be. But God always knows where we are. And what is more, He gives grace upon grace even as He fully welcomes the humble lowly sinners.

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:1&10