What is Love?
BY ED ALLARD
What is love? We all think we know what love is. We all want to be loved. Are we lovable? Do we really know what love is? I’ll have to admit that sometimes I am not loveable. I recognize that I am still learning about this thing called love. I hope I never stop. I hope I continue to recognize more and more its importance. I hope I continue to learn better ways of expressing that love to others. I am so thankful for my family that loves me. I am so thankful for my friends who love me.
And I am thankful that my God is a God of love. God is not only a God of love, He is love. There is a song we sing that expresses that, titled “Come, Let Us All Unite To Sing.”
“Come let us all unite to sing, God is love; Let heav’n and earth their praises bring, God is love; Let every soul from sin awake, Each in his heart sweet music make, And sing with us for Jesus’ sake, For God is love. God is love! God is love! Come, let us all unite to sing That God is Love.”
May we all be thankful that God is love. He created us to show us love.He revealed Himself to us in ages past through those distant forerunners such as Adam, Able, Enosh, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japeth, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and a host of others. How many of those names do you know? The only way of knowing of some of them is through the Bible which God gave us.
In the time of Moses, God commanded him to write a certain account for a memorial “in the book.” From that grew the scriptures, the sacred writings we call the Bible. In this way God insured that people of all time would know of Him and the way to live a blessed life. How great is the love of God. Many look upon the Bible as being written by men, not knowing that God selected those men and through His Holy Spirit enabled them to write without error just what He wanted revealed. How great is the love of God.
Through Satan sin entered into the paradise world of Adam and Eve, but God continued to love them and provided for a way for their continued blessings, loving them even when they sinned, just as He does us still today. He planned for the salvation of all through Jesus, sending Him to teach us further of God’s love, a love so great He allowed Jesus His Son to die for our sins.
How great is the love of God. How great was the love of Jesus. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:13, 14). Who but God could have such great love? He asks only in return that we love Him and show our love by keeping His commandments, saying, “If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). How great is the love of God.
Before the world was created God planned for the establishment of a spiritual kingdom, the church, in which His people could have fellowship with Him and with one another. A body in which each would encourage one another in love and good works. A spiritual body set apart from the world, to worship, serve, and live for Him.
A body in which every spiritual blessing of God is received. A body that would show the love of God to others through the preaching of the gospel. A body that would be taught to be holy as God is holy and warned of sinful things, hurtful and harmful to a blessed life and things that would keep us from heaven. How great is the love of God.
When we obey the commandments of Christ for our salvation, He forgives us of all of our past sins. He adds us to His spiritual body, the church. And just as He provided a way for Adam and Eve to be blessed when they had sinned, so He does for us today also, giving to His people a law of pardon for their sins. How great is the love of God. May God’s desires for us be our desires. May we accept His will for us and make it the desire of our will, showing our love in return for His great love. God is good, God is great, God is love.
It is my desire to show the love of God to all and to teach how great God’s love is to others. If I may help you in any way, please call upon me at any time. Our God of love wants you to be with Him in Heaven, after this life on earth is over, for all eternity. Jesus taught much about heaven during His ministry. In His revelation to the apostle John He tells us even more. Our life on earth can be preparation time for a life in Heaven. Let us use our time well, that we may be prepared. Heaven is the incentive. Heaven is a place for a prepared people. Jesus said, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Who are the faithful? Those who do the will of the Father in Heaven (Matthew 7:21); those who keep the commandments of the Lord (John 14:15).
My prayer is that you be one of the prepared. We can go to Heaven. Without a doubt, we can go to Heaven! Jesus tells us how. Those who choose to obey His voice will be saved. How great is the love of God. Because heaven will be such a wonderful place (Revelation 21:9-27) I want to go there. Won’t you decide today that you will go too?