1 JOHN 4:7

On this Valentine’s weekend, I think it is a good time to remind ourselves of how blessed we are and continue to be. We thank God not just for the love of loved ones, but we are especially grateful for His divine, perfect love toward us. The renowned apostle Paul states most eloquently, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved:)” (Ephesians 2:4,5). Here, the apostle Paul informs the believers that it was His great love that engineered and orchestrated our salvation. As terrible and horrible as we were, God bridged the gap. Though vile and wretched, undone and unclean, divine love refused to give up on us. Therefore, as we celebrate “love” this weekend and demonstrate love to our loved ones in tangible way,s we can never forget to express gratitude to the source of genuine love.

I trust that we would never forget that this was the great truth indeed that motivated God’s eternal plan of salvation. It is so often repeated that I am afraid that the full meaning of the profound truth expressed here is regrettably obscured – “For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This kind of love is mysterious and incomprehensible. It is radical and revolutionary. It is really from another planet – celestial! It tells of God, the Supreme Being, loving us, not when we were good and upright, but even before, when we were fallen, broken, despicable, and far removed from him. He loved us to the extent that he sent His only Son to give His own life to rescue and redeem us back into fellowship and union with him. Instead of death and destruction, which we so readily deserved, life and more life have been graciously extended to us.

It is my earnest prayer that we, the offspring of the God who is known as “love,” the loving God, will learn to love like Him. May God help us to love those who are lost and contrary, like how He loved and embraced us when we were pitiful and so terribly sinful. The problem is we so quickly forget how far the Savior traveled to come and redeem our fallen, dying souls. We love, but we often seek to love those whom we think are worthy and who we think may return our love. However, the Church of God is mandated to go after lost humanity so that none should perish and that all may experience everlasting life.

In these urgent times of the now, I strongly believe that one of the best things we can do is to go back to some of the foundational truths of Scripture and to live by them. One of these truths is prominently highlighted by the apostle John. He pointedly said to the church, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7). This is how we prove that we indeed know God, by the love that we constantly express one toward the other. We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Because He first loved us, we not only passionately love Him back, but today we fiercely love one another! This is not optional – this is a command!