‘And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.’ Romans 5:5-11(NLT)
‘Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.’ 1 John 4:7-10(NLT)
‘When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.’ Ephesians 3:14-19(NLT)
‘My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ‘ Galatians 2:20(NLT)
If true love really is the ultimate goal, don’t we want to know what it looks like and how we can attain to it? The question might cross our minds, Can we know true love?
If God is love,
and God commands us to love Him,
and God, by grace, has poured His love out in our hearts through Christ in our salvation,
then we can conclude that the answer is yes—a resounding YES!
We have been given the capacity to know true love, enjoy true love, live in true love, and give true love. If God himself is love, then He is not only our example and standard for love, but He himself is our source as well.
But are there obstacles that might stand in our way?
Unbelief? Hurt? Betrayal? Mistrust? Apathy? Career? Home? Popularity? Fear? Unworthiness? Failure? Think this through today while you are at work, at home, driving . . . then go to the Lord in prayer and share what you discovered. If you don’t feel as though anything is standing in your way, but sense you aren’t as close as you want to be, share that with the Lord as well.
from What Is True Love?