++++++++++
DIVINE LOVE
Divine love can only be found in the “divine nature of Christ.” The greatest characteristic or virtue of Christ is LOVE. God’s love transcends all other virtues of the “divine nature.” Love is more than just an emotion or feeling, it is a person. The Bible says “God is love.” Love is not just a part of His nature, but love defines who He is.
Jesus is the express image of the Father. The “divine love” which dwells in and motivates the Father is the same love that dwells in and motivates the Son. No greater love exists in Heaven or on Earth than the love which dwells in the bosoms of the Father and the Son.
God bestowed His love upon us so we could become and be called the “sons and daughters of God.” (1 John 3:1). God is Life AND Love, and He desires to share His Life and Love with everyone. Jehovah is a Father who desires to produce children after His own kind--children of Light who are filled with His Life and Love as well as His grace and mercy.
God has always desired to share His love with all who will accept His love, grace, and mercy. Everything God does on our behalf is based on “His love for us.” Even when He has to chastise us, it is because of His undying love for us. The Bible says “He chastens those He loves.” (Hebrews 12:6).
John 3:16 is probably the most well-known, and one of the most powerful verses of scripture which is found in the Bible. Many people have been drawn to the Lord and committed their life to Christ through the power of this one verse. God loved mankind so much He sent His only begotten Son to die a cruel death at Calvary. Only those who choose to believe on the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary will receive forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.
“Divine love” is not just a “fuzzy little feeling” we get in our stomach which makes us want to cuddle up closely with someone. Love is the strongest of all emotions. Divine love is much more and goes far beyond just a strong desire to be with someone you have deep feelings for in a natural sense.
Divine love is also “pure love.” It comes out of a pure heart motivated by unselfishness and compassion. Pure love--the God-kind of love--is not based upon how we perceive a person’s physical appearance, their personality, how well they can speak, or how much talent they may possess. It is not based upon what someone can do for someone else, or on the capacity of one to return love. The God-kind of love goes beyond human understanding and cannot be understood by the finite minds of men.
Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love was the motivating factor behind the creation of the universe, and subsequently the creation of mankind. Love has the propensity to and can change the course of human nature. Through the knowledge of God we can find the existence and power of His amazing love when we seek Him with all our heart.
Divine love has the power to change the emotions and attitudes of people who are bound by animus, hatred, malice and prejudice to name a few. Divine love has the power to change the way we feel about the destitute, indigent, needy, poor, and downtrodden. When people encounter, experience and acknowledge the virtues of “divine love,” they will treasure God’s “divine love” in their hearts for eternity. Rejecting the love of God is the most foolish thing a person can do. It is a death sentence which damns souls throughout eternity.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this 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. 1 John, ch. 4, vs. 8-9.
The Bible tells us “God is love” and that LOVE never fails. Love never fails BECAUSE God is love and He CANNOT fail. If God could fail, love would no longer exist and life could never be found again in Heaven or on Earth. Eternal life exists only through the power of God’s Love and Life.
The God kind of love is a perpetual virtue which rules Heaven perpetually. The love of God is more powerful than anything which exists. It is God’s nature to love. It is the nature of God to love even those who are unlovable. It is God’s nature and desire to love people, even when they are unworthy of His love.
Without love there is no hope, only anguish, pain, sorrow, loneliness, and despair. Without love the “hope of salvation” would not exist. Without love mankind would be eternally lost in their sins destined for an eternity in the Lake of Fire where their “worm does not die and the flames are never quenched.” (Mark 9:48).
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge: that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians, ch. 3, vs. 10.
Love’s “divine purpose” is to give eternal life to all who will believe in Jesus Christ. God is not only LOVE, but He is also LIFE. God prefers love over hate and life over death. He does not wish for anyone to perish, but desires for all to receive the life He offers through the Blood Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God prefers justification over judgment and justice over injustice. God loves those who hate evil and hates those who love evil. Yes, God is love, but He is also a God of severity, justice and judgment. (Romans 11:22). God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and a rock of offence to those who oppose Him. God rewards those who sincerely repent of their sins. He gives grace to the humble. God rejects the proud and the haughty. (James 4:6).
The concept of “divine love” surpasses all knowledge and understanding. Why God loves people who do not acknowledge or love Him is a mystery. Many fail to believe or understand how this can be possible, but it is true.
We are filled with the fullness of God when we are filled with the fullness of His love. The love God has bestowed upon us gives us the power and ability to “walk in and be conduits” of His “divine love.” In Christ we live and move and have our being. In Christ we can love those who are unlovable and those who do not love us because we are emissaries of the “divine nature.”
As Christians we are Ambassadors of Christ sent to the four corners of the Earth to gather in a harvest of souls for our Lord. We are able to go into “all the world to preach the gospel” because we have become channels of His “divine love.”
“Divine love” is self-sacrificing. It is longsuffering and kind. It rejoices in truth. It seeks not its own. It is not selfish. It rejoices in hope. It bears all things. It endures all things. “Divine love” never fails.
In 1975 Prophet Bob Jones died and found himself standing in line with others at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. Jesus was standing at the Gates of Heaven to welcome the saints who had “finished their course” and kept the faith. As each person came before the Lord He asked them one question: “Did you learn to love?” When Bob came before the Lord, Jesus told him he had not yet finished his assignment on Earth and sent him back.
God created each one of us to be instruments of His DIVINE LOVE, grace and mercy. He placed His love within us when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. Without love we will be unable to show mercy to those who sin against us. Without love we will be unable to show the unmerited favor of God to others. Unfortunately, many Christians have not yet “learned to love.”
Jesus commanded us to show mercy and have compassion for our ENEMIES. He told us to forgive those who revile and persecute us. If we only love our families, friends, and our brothers and sisters in the Lord and despise the rest of the world, we are not characterizing “divine love.”
Love is the bond which binds the body of Christ together as we walk corporately together with the Lord. Unfortunately, many people in the Church fail to love others in the Church, much less love other people in the world. Many people are lost and have not been as fortunate as we have been to have heard the gospel and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.
Loving those who love you is admirable. Loving those who despise, ridicule, hate, persecute, and forsake you is divine. To “err is human—to forgive is divine.” We have all made mistakes in our lives. We have all fallen short of the “glory of God.” We all have need of a Savior.
If we have not truly “learned to love,” we are not fulfilling the Law of Christ. If we have not “learned to love” unconditionally, we will not be able to answer Christ in the affirmative when He asks us the heartfelt question: “Did you learn to love?”
We must remember that at one time we were all unlovable and have been unkind to others around us. Those who do not know Christ will not have access to His “divine nature” which we now have. We cannot expect those who do not know Christ to act Christ-like. Unless people accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will not possess the propensity to be “Christ--like.”
There are many in churches today who are not yet portraying the “divine nature of Christ.” Many Christians have not yet learned how to “walk in the Spirit.” Many Church leaders have failed to make disciples within their congregations. Many Christians do not even know how to “pray effectively.” When Christians do not know how to “pray effectively,” they “effectively fall prey” to the schemes and wiles of the enemy.
The power which enables us to walk in the fullness of the “divine nature of Christ” is available to ALL believers. When we “learn to love” we will learn to forgive. When we “learn to love” as Christ loves, we will walk in the fullness of the “divine nature.” When the Spirit of Christ dwells richly within us, the “love of Christ” will also dwell within us richly.