3 Benefits of God's Love

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Love is the foundation upon which all biblical doctrines rest. It is the cement that holds all other revelations together. How can we trust our heavenly Father to save us, provide for us, or heal us if we question the depth of His affection?

We may not feel His heart at times, but that doesn’t change the truth. We should believe He is passionate toward us because He said so.

We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19 NKJV). We can’t love God first because there isn’t anything in us to love Him with until we receive for ourselves the life He extends to us.

Herein is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). We don’t deserve His mercy, but He gives it to us because of His grace.

God's love gives us more than we can ever count, but here are 3 benefits we can live out daily.

The True Nature of God is Love, Not Judgment

by Barbara Latta

Chocolate, roses, fancy dinners, and stuffed animals are the primary gifts given for

The true nature of God is love, not judgment.

Valentine’s Day. These are physical reminders of affectionate feelings for another person. But after the day is over, do we revert back to old ways and forget the loving things said and done because of a special holiday?

Our tokens of love are emotional. Feelings aren’t wrong, but we can’t depend on them to guide our lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like being loving, we would rather be grumpy or rude. But real love does the action without the feeling.

The true nature of God is unconditional love, not judgment. He loved us while we were still dirty, rotten sinners (Romans 5:8). He showed the one and only kind of real love when he gave Jesus to us as a gift wrapped in a little baby to grow into the man who would have all the foul sin of the world placed upon him. He placed the judgment of His wrath upon His own Son so it wouldn't fall upon us. 

That was action, not emotion.

Happy Valentine's Day from Jesus

Because He loved us, we can love Him (I John 4:10). And because He loved us, we can love others. Not with a feeling, but with a showing, a doing, a becoming what He made us to be.

Our works don’t bring us into a relationship with God. Faith does that. Receiving grace does that (Ephesians 8-9). But to bring someone else into that grace requires showing them the love of the Father. And that is where the action comes in. When we don't retaliate against someone who has mistreated us we are reflecting the true nature of God because that is what He did for us. He doesn't give us evil when we display evil. He empties Himself and pours out a love we can not experience through human emotion.

The valentine of heaven wasn’t a card sent through an angelic mailbox. It was blood running down a wooden cross to soak into the cursed earth. One drop would have been enough, but he used it all to show us He goes over and beyond and does much more than we need.  He paid the highest cost and we were given the freest gift.

Happy Valentine’s Day—from Jesus.

What does this love mean to you?

The true nature of God is love not judgment (click to tweet)

Happy Valentine's Day from Jesus (click to tweet)

The Unconditional Love of God

by Barbara Latta

Our tokens of love are emotional.

Chocolate, roses, fancy dinners, and cards are the primary gifts given for Valentine’s Day. These are physical reminders of affectionate feelings for another person. But after the day is over, do we revert back to old ways and forget the loving things said and done because of a special holiday?

Our tokens of love are emotional. Feelings aren’t wrong, but we can’t depend on them to guide our lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like being loving, we would rather be grumpy or rude. But real love performs the action even when the feeling is absent.

God’s love is unconditional. He loved us while we were still dirty, rotten sinners (Romans 5:8). He showed the one and only kind of real love when he gave Jesus to us as a gift wrapped in a little baby to grow into the man who would have all the foul sin of the world placed upon him.

He loved us without us loving Him.

God loved us without us loving Him.

Because He loved us, we can love Him (I John 4:10). And because He loved us, we can love others. Not with a feeling, but with a showing, a doing, a becoming what He made us to be.

Our works don’t bring us into a relationship with God. Faith does that. Receiving grace does that (Ephesians 8-9). But to bring someone else into that grace requires showing them the love of the Father. The action comes in by not retaliating against someone who has mistreated us, being kind to someone who was rude in the shopping line and keeping our mouths in line with the word when we get “blessed” out. These are the actions of love despite the opposite feelings rising within us.

Heaven's valentine wasn’t a card sent through an angelic mailbox. It was blood running down a wooden cross to soak into the cursed earth. One drop would have been enough, but He used it all to show us He goes over and beyond and does much more than we need.  He paid the highest cost and we were given the freest gift. 

Happy Valentine’s Day—from Jesus (click to tweet).

What does this love mean to you?

Heaven's Valentine

by Barbara Latta

Chocolate, roses, fancy dinners, and stuffed animals are the primary gifts given for Valentine’s Day. These are physical reminders of affectionate feelings for another person. But after the day is over, do we revert back to old ways and forget the loving things said and done because of a special holiday?

Our tokens of love are emotional. Feelings aren’t wrong, but we can’t depend on them to guide our lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like being loving, we would rather be grumpy or rude. But real love does the action without the feeling.

This is God’s unconditional love. He loved us while we were still dirty, rotten sinners (Romans 5:8). He showed the one and only kind of real love when he gave Jesus to us as a gift wrapped in a little baby to grow into the man who would have all the foul sin of the world placed upon him.

That was action, not emotion.

Because He loved us, we can love Him. (I John 4:10-11). And because He loved us, we can love others. Not with a feeling, but with a showing, a doing, a becoming what He made us to be.

Our works don’t bring us into a relationship with God. Faith does that. Receiving grace does that (Ephesians 2:8-9). But to bring someone else into that grace requires showing them the love of the Father. And that is where the action comes in. Not retaliating against someone who has mistreated us, being kind to someone who was rude in the shopping line, keeping our mouths in line with the word when we get “blessed” out. These are the actions of love despite the opposite feelings rising within us.

The valentine of heaven wasn’t a card sent through an angelic mailbox. It was blood running down a wooden cross to soak into the cursed earth. One drop would have been enough, but he used it all to show us He goes over and beyond and does much more than we need.  He paid the highest cost and we were given the freest gift.

Happy Valentine’s Day—from Jesus.

What does this love mean to you?

What Do You Say About Love?

This past week we celebrated Valentine's Day and we were inundated with chocolate, flowers, and cards in stores, workplaces, and schools. All thoughts turn to love during this time and florists have their busiest time of the year. But if your flowers have faded and your candy is gone, why not ponder some quotes from famous people about love?

"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to persuade my wife to marry me."
Winston Churchill

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will ride with you on the bus when the limo breaks down." Oprah Winfrey

"No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along."
Dr. Joyce Brothers

"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."
Albert Einstein

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."
Charlie Brown

"An archeologist is the best husband a woman can have, the older she gets the more interested he is in her."
Agatha Christie

And from a not-so-famous person, but my favorite man of all, Ken Latta, my hubby.
"I can't not love you."

No matter what your view of love is, humorous or thought-provoking, no one says it any better than the Apostle John, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but the 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." (I John 4:10-11).

Enjoy your flowers, chocolate, and cards. But most of all enjoy the love God has put into your life.

What is your favorite love quote and why?