The Overflowing Love of God
The Overflowing Love of God
If you've ever held a cup under a running faucet and watched as the water
spilled over, you've seen a simple representation of God's love for us.
Imagine that cup as our hearts and the faucet as God's eternal spring of
love. His love pours endlessly, and our cups … They overflow.
1 John 4:7-21 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and
whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not
love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was
made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that
we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but
that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has
ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is
perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because
he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father
has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that
Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have
come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and
whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is
love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of
judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in
love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment,
and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first
loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for
he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom
he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves
God must also love his brother."
John, in his epistle, brings to light the pure essence and depth of love for all
of us. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God." These words
aren't just a simple call to action; they're an invitation to connect with the
divine. You see, love isn't just an emotion or a fleeting feeling. It's an
embodiment of God Himself. When John writes, "God is love," he isn’t
saying that love is one of the many things God does. No, he’s revealing to us
that love is God's very nature. If we claim to know love, then we know God.
And inversely, without love, we drift far from truly understanding Him.
We, as humans, are capable of love only because He first loved us. He's not
just the source; He IS love. Consider for a moment the lengths of God's
love: He sent His only Son into the world for us. It's a humbling thought.
Our understanding of love is often based on reciprocation – "I'll love if I am
loved in return." But God's love is different. It’s unconditional. He loved us
even before we recognized Him. And it was through this love that Jesus
became the bridge, mending our relationship with the Father.
John's message doesn't stop with understanding God’s love for us. There's
a responsibility attached: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love
one another." It’s a clear directive. If the Almighty, who we haven’t seen,
can love us so deeply, how can we, who live and interact with one another,
not extend that same love? Our relationships with our brothers and sisters
become the reflection of our relationship with God. The logic is simple and
profound. If we claim to love God but harbor resentment or hatred toward
a brother or sister, we contradict ourselves. How can we love the infinite
God we've never seen, if we can't love the tangible brother or sister before
us?
Now that we have read this, it’s all sunshine and cute kitty cats, huh? Well
not on this side of eternity. Loving others can be difficult. At times we place
our ego and ideologies as a barrier between our Christian family. Our pride
and self-righteousness cause divisions, and we rather be better than our
brother and sister than their equal. How do we deal with someone with a
sense of superiority? Well, the answer to this dilemma is still God’s love. I
believe 1 Peter 4:8 say’s it best – "Above all, keep loving one another
earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."
The choice of the word "earnestly" is deliberate. Christian love is not
superficial or brief; it's deep, genuine, and persistent. It's a love that seeks
the best for others, even when it's challenging. It's sacrificial in nature,
mirroring Christ's own sacrifice for humanity. Furthermore, the phrase
"covers a multitude of sins" doesn't mean to ignore or to condone
wrongdoings. Instead, it speaks to love's ability to forgive and to restore.
When we love earnestly, we're willing to look beyond the flaws and
mistakes of others. We see them through a lens of compassion and grace,
much like how God sees us despite our own imperfections. It’s this love
that removes the fear of conflict and allows us to have difficult
conversations for the betterment of the body of Christ.
So, what's our takeaway from all of this? Simply put: Dive into God's love
daily. Let it fill you up, let it guide your actions, and let it spill over into
your relationships. And remember, when things get tough, and it seems
hard to love, bow down, remember the cross, and plug back into the source.
It’s not about you, it’s not about our worship assemblies, it’s not about our
bible studies, it’s not about our knowledge or power … It’s about GOD’S
LOVE! Let the love we’ve so graciously received be the love we generously
share. In the end, our Christian family isn't just a community; it's a
manifestation of God's love on Earth. And every time we love one another,
we're essentially saying, "Thank you, God, for first loving us."
Remember, dear family, keep your cups open and let His love pour in.
Here's to our cups forever overflowing!
- William Reagan
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