The Love of God

One day as Annie and I were walking back home after picking blackberries, she asked me, “What lie about God do you tend to believe the most? What characteristic of His do you struggle believing in?” I didn’t really know how to answer in the moment because I thought of myself as someone who trusted in the Lord and what He says in His Word. I didn’t think I believed in lies about Him. But over the course of the following days, I ruminated on that question and began to realize, maybe I believed in the Enemy’s lies more than I thought. And one day, it finally clicked: I doubt God’s love.

I dismiss the fact that He loves me intimately as His own daughter and that I can run to Him as my perfectly, heavenly Father, calling Him “Abba,” one of the most personal words in Hebrew for “Daddy.” One Wednesday evening, we had all of the girls in Bible study write down how they would share the Gospel to a nonbeliever. Later as we were reading through the answers, I noticed that nearly every single one mentioned, “God loves you.” I began to realize I never include that in my gospel presentation. I always strive to present a clear Gospel message.

I explain how we are all sinners destined for Hell and have been separated from God due to our sin because He is holy and righteous (Rom. 3:23, 6:23). Because God is just, He can’t permit us to go into heaven; the debt of death must be paid. But God sent His Son Jesus Christ, who was fully man and fully God, to earth to be born as a baby. During His life, He never sinned, yet He died a criminal’s death on the cross, taking our sin upon Himself and dying in our place. Three days later, He conquered sin and death when God raised Him from the dead. Everyone who trusts in Christ as their Savior, acknowledging Jesus as Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead, will be forgiven of their sins and one day inherit eternal life in heaven with Jesus (Rom. 10:9-10).

This is the message of the Gospel and it’s the truth. But I realized, I didn’t tell people how much God loves them! However, that’s exactly WHY God sent His Son. “For God so LOVED the world…” (John 3:16) Love is at the very heart of the Gospel because it is who God is.

I think one of the reasons I disbelieve God’s love is because deep down I know how unworthy I am—how unworthy we all are—because He is so majestic and holy. But His awesome majesty and glory is what makes His love for us that much more amazing and incomprehensible! We don’t deserve it, yet God loves us anyway, while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). And because I disbelieved that God loves me as a Father with a personal, affectionate sort of love, I lacked love in my heart towards Him and other people. I realized my motivation for sharing the Gospel wasn’t stemmed from love for people, it was stemmed out of duty and obligation to fulfill Christ’s commandment.

This isn’t necessarily wrong because it IS our duty to evangelize, but if love is missing, we’re nothing but a “resounding gong” or a “clanging symbol,” according to 1 Corinthians 13. I wasn’t motivated by love for my Savior or to the salvation of lost souls. I was simply trying to obey to make myself feel like a better Christian.

The other day, I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon, and he explained that Christians are to be characterized by love and started going through all the “love one another” passages scattered throughout the Bible. He continued to say that this isn’t some wishy-washy worldly definition of love; this is deep, self-sacrificing love. Is this what my life is characterized by?

As I was reflecting and mediating on this one Sunday morning, the old hymn “The Love of God” came to mind, and I began to repeat the lyrics in my head. Then as God would have it, at church that morning, someone requested to sing that very song. Immediately following, another friend stood up and shared something the Lord had taught him in Revelation.

He was talking about the church in Ephesus that was faithfully committed to sound doctrine, church discipline and good works (they were faithful to their Christian duty much like I felt I was), but they had forgotten their first love. He concluded with the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13, “but now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” It’s incredible to think that love is greater than even faith and hope! This truth really struck deep in my heart. God isn’t just loving, He IS love!

I think one of the reasons I doubt God’s love is because of the misconstrued definition of love being promoted by the Western Church today. As June recently passed by, many people and even churches celebrated the sin of homosexuality for “Pride Month.” Love has been redefined to mean tolerance and inclusivity, but that’s not what real love is. Does God love homosexuals? Of course! Their sin is no worse than mine, yet God loved them too, enough to die for them.

Leaving the homosexual lifestyle isn’t going to do anything to change their eternal destination. It would be the same as if I had decided to quit lying and start obeying my parents and reading my Bible every day. It would have done absolutely nothing. I still wouldn’t have been saved. I still was a sinner destined for hell. What did change me? The love of Jesus Christ.

When I received Christ as my Savior by putting my faith in His grace alone (nothing I did or could do), He forgave me. The blood of Jesus Christ cleansed me from all unrighteousness. And that’s exactly what homosexuals, adulterers, thieves, disobedient children and all types of sinners need: the redeeming power of Christ’s love.

During “Pride month,” I saw someone with a shirt that said, “The world has bigger problems than boys who kiss boys and girls who kiss girls.” And I agree. The problem isn’t homosexuality. The problem is sin. The problem is hearts without Christ. And homosexuality is just one of the many sins on the list. The only solution? God’s love. Our sin is dangerous—it condemns us to an eternity in the lake of fire! But God loves us so much that He doesn’t want to leave us in our sin, He wants to forgive us and change us into a new creation. The result? We’re no longer living for ourselves in sin but for the things of the Lord because He gives us a love for Him! We now love Him more than our sin!

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this; that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-17

If any of you are struggling with doubting God’s love, I encourage you to remember that He loves you immensely, and His arms are open wide ready to receive you lovingly into His embrace. He is already turned towards you ready to forgive, are you going to turn towards Him?

If you do, something amazing, something indescribable, something transforming takes place. And we now get the amazing privilege of being an ambassador for Christ, a vessel of His love to the world! Let us learn to love!