God's Love

The biblical word for the love of God is agape. It frequently appears in the context of giving such as, “For God so loved the world that HE GAVE…” or Galatians 2:20 where Paul speaks of the Son of God “who loved me AND GAVE himself for me.” Interestingly, there are 290 references to the love of God in just the New Testament; 290 times when God declares His love for us! 
 
God's love is not some isolated and veiled truth hidden away in Scripture. NO, it is the theme and the heartbeat of the Word of God! It is written into every line, every verse, every chapter, every book as well as each of the two testaments.  1 John 4:8 and 4:16 declares, “God is love.”
 
However, that love is costly. Paul writes to the Roman Christians, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
 
There were easier ways to show love than to die for someone:

• Jesus healed the sick,
  
• He opened the eyes of the blind,
• He raised the dead,
  
• He fed the hungry,
• He blessed little children,
• The Bible says that He went about doing good.

However, merely doing good was not good enough. It was going to take more than a boy scout to redeem mankind, it was going to take someone who would die for us; it was going to take a savior!  
 
Someone once observed, “Jesus loved us in the greatest possible way to the greatest possible extent!”  And, I remind you, He did all of this “while we were yet sinners.”
 
Speaking of sinners, think with me of the people that Jesus ministered to during His time here on earth. Does anything strike you about those folks? With but few exceptions, they were people who would not be accepted in many of our churches across America today:

• The lepers,
• The blind beggars,
• A less than ethical tax collector,
• The demon possessed,
• The homeless,
• The diseased and unclean.
• The morally challenged -- the woman taken in adultery, the harlot, the woman who was

living with a man even though they were unmarried.
 
These were the very ones that society and even the religious circles turned away and yet like iron shavings are drawn to a magnet, so it was that those people were drawn to Jesus. They were drawn by His love. They felt His acceptance. When they were around Him, they felt new worth.
I was raised in terrible poverty. I know what it is like to be homeless. I know what it is like not to have enough to eat.  When I accepted Jesus, I was not all that moved by His miracles, His great healings or even His wonderful teachings. The thing that struck me was that…

• God Almighty loved me, “a sinner, condemned, unclean.” 

• He saw something of value in me. 
• He wanted me for His very own!  Wow! 

The thought still boggles my mind!
 
I was one of those who was drawn by His love; drawn by His mercy!
 
Friends, the love of Jesus Christ...

• Towers above 10,000 valentines.
• It overshadows all the boxes of chocolates in the world.
• It overwhelms a million bouquets of roses.

Nothing/no one shouts “I love you” as does Jesus Christ!

The Redeemed Team