love of God

What Kind Matters

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God” 1 John 3:1

When John wrote this he quite likely did so after a lengthy pause to consider the kind of love that God has toward us. In the world there are several kinds of love but this kind of love is uniquely God’s kind of love.

People often express a brotherly kind of love toward each other which occasionally includes acts of self sacrifice. Yet this kind of love is often conditional. If the object of the love does not reciprocate then it may fail.

There is a kind of love that may be better described as lust. Lust means that I must be gratified now; I must have it now. Coveting something that another person has may be the motivation for this kind of love. This is a self-serving kind of love.

The love that parents have for their children is often sacrificial and is evidence that we are created in the image of God. It is limited in its expression to our children and perhaps to grandchildren. Yet even this love can fail.

So that we are in no doubt as to the kind of love God has toward us John states it in verse sixteen: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” Paul describes it this way, “God demonstrates His own [kind of] love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:8, 6). This is why Jesus can ask us to love our enemies (Luke 6:27-35). When He lives in us we will show this kind of love from the heart – not out of a sense of duty or necessity.

God did not have to make a decision to love us in this way. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). He loves in this way because it is His nature. When His nature abides in us we will also love others in this way, even those who mock us and spit on us as they did the Lord Jesus.

When we know that God has this kind of love toward us we will have no difficulty trusting Him. The evidence that we trust Him is that we obey His word because we know it is for our good. When we do not obey Him we reveal that we doubt his love for us.

We can now see the exceeding sinfulness of unbelief. How could we doubt God’s goodness toward us when the evidence is plain before our eyes that while we were His enemies Jesus died for us?

Behold and meditate on this kind of love that the Father has bestowed on us and then let Him love even our enemies through us. God’s kind of love gives what is rightfully ours to another who previously had no right to it. It will cost us something to benefit another who doesn’t deserve it.

Worthy to Suffer

“… Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” (Acts 5:41)

Peter and the other apostles had been preaching the Gospel and many Israelites believed that Jesus is the Christ who died for their sin and rose again in accord with their own Scriptures. This brought a rough response from the religious leaders of the day with the result that Peter and the others were imprisoned and beaten before being let go.  Instead of complaining that Jesus had not protected them from such people and action they rejoiced that their Saviour had judged them worthy to join Him in His suffering. They had done nothing wrong and they most certainly did not seek or provoke such treatment.

Job was not asked if he would consent to go through the fiery trial that we can read in the book bearing his name. We read his account from the perspective of knowing the outcome but why don’t you put yourself in his place next time you read Job? He did not know why these terrible events had come his way and neither did he know the outcome.

His property and livelihood were stripped from him; his children were killed until he had just his life and his wife. Then his body became covered in boils, his friends falsely accused him and his wife turned against him until there was just himself and God. This was where God had wanted him.

At no time did Job change his view of God even though he did not know why God had allowed him to suffer in the extreme. Neither did he accuse God of dealing in an unrighteous or unloving way.

As it was for Peter and the apostles, and for Job, the Lord knew their faith would withstand the extreme ordeals they experienced. It wasn’t a test to determine if they had faith but rather a revelation of the great faith they had. This revelation brought glory to God. The experience thrust them more on God’s grace with the result their faith was strengthened further by the experience.

To seek suffering would be lunacy and some suffering may be because of our own sin and wickedness but when the Lord allows His precious saints to suffer it is to reveal and strengthen their faith.

When we get to the end of ourselves we are in the best possible place. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The danger is that we will yield to Satan’s temptation to accuse and turn from God and become bitter and angry with Him. Job’s wife encouraged him to take that path because she had already done so. She had lost all her children as well but instead of revealing faith in the Divine Nature she revealed a distinct lack of faith and bitterness toward God.

However, by God’s grace trials and suffering can turn to the sweetest revelation of Jesus Christ to us as it did for Job, Peter and the apostles. They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer.

Love Expressed

“For God so loved the world that He gave …” John 3:16

The apostle Peter was very confident that he would stand by Jesus no matter what the circumstances. In John 13 we read that after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet He told them that one of them would betray Him. Naturally they wanted to know which of them would do such a thing. Peter was certain it would not be him because he would lay down his life for Jesus’ sake. It must have come as a tremendous humiliation to hear Jesus’ response that before the morning he would deny knowing Jesus three times. Peter was determined that this wouldn’t be so. He was sure he knew he wouldn’t fail Jesus.

Later that night while in Gethsemane the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees came for Jesus. Peter still determined not to deny Jesus and to fulfil his statement that he would die for Jesus’ sake, took out a small sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Imagine Peter’s amazement when Jesus put it right back. At this point all he thought he knew about Jesus fell into a black hole.

Peter thought he knew Jesus; he thought he knew himself. To some degree he did but we can discover here that he didn’t know Jesus as well as he thought and he certainly didn’t know himself very well either. He was willing to die for his idea of Jesus but he had the wrong idea of Jesus and His mission.

We must be careful that we don’t do the same and that we never close the door to understanding more clearly who Jesus is and also allowing Him to reveal more of who we really are to ourselves.

Of course Jesus had a purpose and a favourable outcome for Peter in the pipeline but this unhappy experience was necessary for Peter to arrive at the happy outcome.

Peter really did love Jesus but it took this experience and the cross of Jesus for him to fully realise the extent of that love. After His resurrection Jesus came to Peter again and probed his heart three times with the question, “Do you love Me?” At the third time Peter knew what Jesus knew, he really did love Jesus. The realisation that Jesus knew it too would have been a strong motivation for the sacrificial life Peter lived thereafter.

How did Jesus ask Peter to express that love? The specific ministry for Peter was that of being a shepherd to Jesus’ followers – “Feed My sheep.” The general ministry principle for all of us is that love for Jesus is expressed in sacrificial service and ministry to other believers. Love for Jesus is not self-absorbed, it is others conscious. That was the principle lesson of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.

If God’s love for us moved Him to give His only begotten Son then our love for Him will be expressed in giving ourselves to service and ministry to His people.

Putty in His Hands

“The humble He guides in justice and the humble He teaches His way” Psalm 25:9

Even people who have not trusted Jesus Christ for salvation will sometimes affirm that God’s love is unconditional. It is unconditional because it is one of two aspects of the Divine Nature. The other aspect is God’s righteousness. Together, God’s love and righteousness are the core of His holiness. While God’s love is unconditional there are conditions that apply if we are to receive the benefits of that love.

There are no formulas that can be utilised to gain God’s favour. His favour comes solely by way of a relationship with the Father through the Son. Formulas to gain God’s favour are devised by people who do not have a relationship with God. These are usually based on superstition even if they do use Biblical or Christian terminology.

When we read passages such as Psalm 25 we see conditions to leading a godly life not a formula to enact in the manner of superstition to gain our desire or God’s favour.

The first condition to godly living is stated in verse 8, “He teaches sinners in the way.” If we do not agree that we are sinners then we make ourselves unteachable. Paul writes that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The good news in this is that Jesus said that He came to save sinners (John 3:17) and call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). Paul affirms this when he wrote that “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

Only a person truly humble in heart will wholeheartedly accept God’s assessment of him. This opens the door for God’s unconditional love to become personally effective for salvation and living a godly life.

As we agree with God concerning our sin we become teachable and will ask, “Show me Your ways O Lord, teach me Your paths” (v 4). As we become aware of God’s ways we will have a change of heart attitude toward the Lord (repentance) and allow Him to further “lead me in Your truth and teach me  … On You I wait [in faith] all the day.”

The only basis for such a plea and expectation is the love of God demonstrated and made effective on Calvary’s cross by Jesus Christ. The psalmist’s plea is based on God’s mercy and forgiveness available only through Jesus Christ (vv 6, 7, 16, 18). We will only plea on this basis when we accept that we have nothing to offer with regard to our own righteousness. Paul describes his own mind in regard to this in Philippians 3:7-11.

The peace that comes with forgiveness of sin is known by the one who lives in daily humility in communion with the Lord. The person who is humble and teachable before the Lord meets the conditions necessary to be led by the Lord. The truly humble spirit is also teachable and says to the Lord, “Show me … teach me … lead me” (vv 4, 5). Such a person is soft clay in the Potter’s hand and He will joyfully respond to this request.