“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 ESV
True love is deeper than that which can be expressed by mere words and gifts. True love is found in Him Who is love. For love is not merely an affection, it is an action. Love is not merely an intent, but a motive. Love is not merely a word, but a lifestyle. Whoever has true Biblical love has known Him Who is love.
As we descend, Christ ascends. As we deny self, God comes to help. From high above the Ancient of Days has always dwelled. In all dimensions and realms, God’s love is echoed through, heard, felt, and seen. There is nothing that exists that has not been created out of the Omnificence and love of God. Therefore, all things (whether recognizing it or not), desire to return to that Love. For as we come into the world, so we also go out of the world. As we have been created, so we (should) seek to know Who created us.
Worldly love is partial and temporal, but God’s love is fulfilling and everlasting.
The love that draws us in is solely from Him. The King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Alpha and the Omega. The First and the Last. The Beginning and the End. In Him dwells that which cannot be made by man, though it may be manufactured. Worldly love is partial and temporal, but God’s love is fulfilling and everlasting. For true love desires to return to the Source from which it has come. True love desires to know Him Who is love. Only by this can Biblical love flow through our veins and be extended out to others.
The Blood of Christ offers the way of the Holy Spirit to collide with our soul and lift it into heavenly places. For the Holy Spirit is the Kingdom of God within.
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). A gift that no man desires, but is freely offered to all. The Blood of Christ purges man and makes Him whiter than snow. The Blood of Christ offers the way of the Holy Spirit to collide with our soul and lift it into heavenly places. For the Holy Spirit is the Kingdom of God within. It is the Holy Spirit Who reveals His perfect love by continuing to reside within born again believers. In the midst of our worst days and sin, the Holy Spirit does not flee. He remains, drawing us to repentance, sanctifying us through Christ’s righteousness, and restoring us in relationship with the Father.
O that we might know the Divine love on a more intimate and deeper level. What king would come off from his throne to live amongst the poor and die for the alcoholics, murderers, rapists, homosexuals, sexually immoral, fornicators, liars, prideful, egotistical, arrogant, selfish sinners of all the ages? Who would have their own son die for evil men and women? It is God alone that possesses true and infinite love from above. For Christ descended from places which we know nothing. He has seen the full face of God, for He Himself is God. “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18 NKJV).
Christ walked like us, talked like us, went through temptations like us (yet, without sin), and endured adversity like us. He went through more than we ever have, even to the point of crucifixion upon a Cross and taking the full blow of God's wrath. He did all this that we might accept Him as Lord and Savior, repent of our sins, and turn to Him.
Christ forsook infinite glory, infinite majesty, and infinite Paradise for a time. He humbled Himself, making Himself in the image of man while remaining truly God. He went through this life, forsaking for a time the fullness of God’s attributes (Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence). He walked like us, talked like us, went through temptations like us (yet, without sin), and endured adversity like us. He went through more than we ever have, even to the point of crucifixion upon a Cross and taking the full blow of God's wrath. He did all this that we might accept Him as Lord and Savior, repent of our sins, and turn to Him.
True love encompasses bearing fruit, loving others unconditionally, praying for our enemies, sharing the full truth of God’s Word, enduring persecution for the sake of God and the Gospel, denying one’s own rights in this life, and fully surrendering and submitting our will to God as we dedicate our entire lives to Him.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV). As Christ gave up His life to provide a means of salvation, redemption, and restoration for us, so we should lay down our lives for our neighbors. The love of the Holy Spirit that flows through us is not perverted or stained. It cannot be corrupted nor defiled. When it is extended out with a pure heart, it is received in the authenticity that it is given. For true love encompasses bearing fruit, loving others unconditionally, praying for our enemies, sharing the full truth of God’s Word, enduring persecution for the sake of God and the Gospel, denying one’s own rights in this life, and fully surrendering and submitting our will to God as we dedicate our entire lives to Him.
True love is done in both spirit and in truth. It is done with a pure spirit and according to the full Truth.
“Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these”” (Mark 12:29-31 ESV). Love from Above helps us to love our neighbors. For true love is done in both spirit and in truth. It is done with a pure spirit and according to the full Truth. Love that drifts from such things, is not properly given. We must first learn the infinite wonder of why Christ dismissed His ability to forever be the Immaterial, Timeless, Spaceless, Incorporeal Logos to become the physical representation and image bearer of God through Jesus. This was not just a temporal act, but one of finality. What Christ has done will echo into eternity, saving us who believe and repent throughout the Unending End.
O that we would not give into worldly love, which is temporal, fleeting, and misleading. That we would return our love for Him through worship, fellowship, and obedience. Only then, will the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit truly love God through us and help us to love our neighbor.
O that we might learn to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That we would not give into worldly love, which is temporal, fleeting, and misleading. That we might learn and strive to love God in the same manifestation that He has loved us. He has given us all things, and we must return our love for Him through worship, fellowship, and obedience. Only then, will the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit truly love God through us and help us to love our neighbor. For when Love from Above descends upon us like a dove, we shall love with expecting nothing in return. For when the Holy Flame of love is within, we shall see people not as mere humans, but as souls made in the image of God. If the Holy Spirit demonstrates His love by living in our vessels in need of constant repair, maintenance, and purification, then certainly He desires to do the same for all.
When the Holy Flame of love is within, we shall see people not as mere humans, but as souls made in the image of God.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV). May we learn to love God as He commands. May our love for Him fill us with more of His love. May His Love in us direct us towards loving others, no matter their age, looks, gender (there being only two: male and female), ethnicity, race, or background. May we dismiss our love of self, this world, the enemy, wickedness, sin, corruption, deception, and pollution. For if we truly have the Holy Spirit within, we will desire to be guided by Truth and love. We will no longer allow ourselves to live under a partial, false love. We will ascend into Him Who is love. We will begin to understand the true love of God, which calls all and desires for all to be saved.
If we truly have the Holy Spirit within, we will desire to be guided by Truth and love. We will no longer allow ourselves to live under a partial, false love. We will ascend into Him Who is love. We will begin to understand the true love of God, which calls all and desires for all to be saved.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). May Godly, Biblical love forever guide us, as we love God and all people, until we are called Home.
PRAYER
Triune God, You ascend beyond all that is. You transcend all that we know, yet You love us. You, O God, know our makeup and our DNA. You knit us in our mother’s womb and knew us before we were made. O God, by Your very will You make that which is pleasing in Your sight. Lord, we are guilty of corrupting Your Original Plan. We are guilty of sin, selfishness, and false love. O that our soul might float into the cloud of Thy Love and dwell there, continuously. That we might be purified from all sin and forever be set free. God, we long for that day when Paradise is our Home and our love will extend to Him Who sits upon the Throne. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the image bearer of God and the physical representation of God’s love. May we live for Him with all humility and obedience. God, we repent of selfish pride, arrogance, anger, and complaining. We deny ourselves, O Lord, and we follow You. For if You took up Your Cross, Precious Savior, then we can take up ours. Help us to love all people, no matter who they are, what they have done, and what they continue to do. Flood our souls with Divine Love that only comes from the Bosom of the Father. May the Holy Spirit be the Sea of Love to our desirous rivers to be like Christ. May all know us by our fruits and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lance VanTine
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