Life's Daily Challenge Devotional

The gospel in one word is "love"

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this is the love of God was manifested toward us that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that 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 anther," 1 John 4:7-11.

Lover of God,

Love in not an intangible substance that God pours into you, so you in turn, have something to give to others. Love is the very nature and character of God, Himself. He is the only true source of it. He gives you love by giving Himself. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16). The Greek word, “agape,” which the Bible uses to describe God’s love means, an undefeatable benevolence, an unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest good of the other person, no matter what he or she does.

How can anyone love like this? The answer is really quite simple. We can’t! It’s impossible for a human being to independently love like this. This kind of love can only flow out of union with the source, Himself. The verse we read above indicates that there are two things necessary, in order for you to love this way.

This type of knowing implies an intimacy that produces life (see Genesis 4:1). In order to know love, you must be willing to be known by love. Relationships must be reciprocal. Intimacy requires you to be vulnerable. Your fallen, human nature urges you to keep yourself covered because at the core, you believe that there are things about yourself too hideous to love. You cannot, however, know love in the areas where you are afraid to be known. You may suppress these thoughts and feelings, stringing barbed wire and erecting no trespassing signs to keep your truest self from being seen. Ironically, these maneuvers will keep these parts of yourself from connecting with a love that always seeks your highest good, regardless of what you do (or have done).

Christ will one day sever Himself from many who claim to follow Him. His reason will be that they did not allow Him to know them. Many of these will have performed seeming commendable works and miracles. These works could not be born of love, however, because these people never made themselves vulnerable to God’s Spirit. They denied Him access to their hidden selves. We can read about this in Matthew 7:22-23. It says, “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” It’s amazing that the all-seeing, all-knowing God waits for you to reveal yourself to Him. Just as He called out to Adam when he and his wife hid themselves in the garden, He calls out to you today. He says, “Where are you?” The answer He seeks has nothing to do with your physical location. It’s rather a relational question. He wants you to reveal to Him the true condition of your heart.

God’s commandment to love starts with you. You are commanded to love your neighbor as you love yourself (see Luke 10:27). This implies that you must partake of God’s love in order to be able to share it with others. You can make yourself vulnerable to God in this way, because He offers His unconditional love to you first, just as you are (see 1 John 4:19). God proved His love, by dying for you while you were still in your sin, (Romans 5:8). If you do not understand this, you’ll get caught in a vicious circle of failure and condemnation, trying to give something to God, and others, that you do not possess. This is like trying to draw living water out of an empty well. Jesus commanded His disciples to give, what He had first given them. “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out devils. Freely you have received, freely give,” (Matthew 10:8).