God’s love through Jesus Christ is multileveled and manifold in source, force, and course! Notice the following.
God’s love has a source! “God is love”(1 John 4:8 NKJV). God is light (1 John 1:5); God is Spirit (John 4:24) and God is Fire (Hebrews 12:29). However, the most glorious attribute of His essence is love (Ephesians 2:4). In matters of Truth – unity! In matters of opinion – liberty! In all things – love! God’s love is wide enough to include all humans! God’s love is long enough to last through all eternity! God’s love is deep enough to reach the lowest sinner! God’s love is high enough to take us to Heaven!
God’s love has a force! “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). God is able to raise children from rocks (Matthew 3:9), restore the fallen (Romans 11:20), abound in grace (2 Corinthians 9:8), deliver (Daniel 3:17), protect (Jude 24) and more (Ephesians 3:20-21). One of the greatest abilities of God, though, is to completely save those who come to Him through Jesus (Hebrews 7:25). This salvation is unchanging, secure and permanent (John 14:6). “Uttermost” means, “completely, perfectly, utterly.” We know power (force): light that can blind, wind that can topple and fire that can melt, but God’s power is greater. “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). God is omnipotent (i.e., unlimited power)! God’s love is the most powerful force in the universe!
God’s love has a course! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God’s love reaches to the young and old, rich and poor, male and female, and strong and weak. “The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin” (Song: “The Love of God”). Powerful! God loves the world (John 3:16), Jesus loves the church (Ephesians 5:25) and Christ loves me (Galatians 2:20). God did not wait until the world turned to Him for love before He gave Jesus as our sacrifice; God demonstrated His love to sinners by His Son’s death (Romans 5:8). Compare 1 John 4:20, which reads, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
Years ago, a poorly dressed boy walked several miles through the snowy streets of Chicago, determined to attend a Sunday School on the opposite side of the city from which he lived. When he arrived, he was asked, “Why did you come to a Sunday School so far away? Why didn’t you go to one near your home?” He answered simply, “Because you love a fellow over here.” Oscar Hammerstein once said, “A bell’s not a bell ‘til you ring it – A song’s not a song ‘til you sing it – Love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay – Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away!” Thank God for His amazing and incredible love! Those that receive it are blessed; those that possess it are rich!
