This section discusses out response to God's love. It is best to read the sections about God's Love and Power and ALL Good and all Love is from God.

OUTLINE

1.       Introduction

2.       Overview

3.       The choice to love

a.       Atheism and the Natural Man

b.       The example of love, Jesus

c.       Two lives before us.

d.       Most of us are mostly selfish

e.       The progression of love

·       Response

·       Obedience

·       Compelled

4.       Jesus sums up the entire law with love! (Matt 22:37-40)

5.       All About Love (I John 4)

a.       Source

b.       Demonstration

c.       Commands

d.       Reason

e.       Test of adoption

6.       How do we share God's love?

a.       Love defined (I Cor 13)

b.       Why we are to love

c.       Love commanded

d.       Love explained

·       Loving others

·       Loving enemies

7.       Love summed up (Phil 1:3-8)

The passages about love are so clear that they need little or no explanation. For that reason, by far most of what you may learn will be from simply reading and meditating on the passages. Misunderstandings of the meaning of these passages typically stem from misunderstanding the meaning of the word "love." There is only one word "love" in English and that causes confusion when attempting to use common definitions when interpreting Bible passages about love. In English, for example, we can love ice cream, our family, our friends, and romantically love our spouses. Perhaps the purest love that we have, which is the same as God's love, is love for a little baby. We "agape", and do what is best for that baby, no matter how we feel. We would sacrifice sleep, hunger, and even our own lives to do what is best for that little baby. Our needs at the moment when the baby has real needs do not matter.

The word "love" as seen in the below verses is "Agape" love. A simple definition of Agape love is "doing what is best for the other person, no matter how you feel or how much it costs you." More

God is love and is our source of love. The directives of the entire Bible, so to speak, are summed up as we are to love God and love others.

   If we do not love others, we are proved to be illegitimate children. 

There is absolutely nothing we can attain, not even supernatural power that compares with love. There is nothing we can do, including sacrificing our lives unto death, that compares with love.

   We love because we are loved.

Jesus first loved us and demonstrated that by coming to earth and dying for us.

In order to understand what loving others looks like, it may be helpful to consider the mind of someone who does not believe in God. That is the mind of a natural man, which simply means our minds without God in our lives. Paul looked at the difference between the believer and unbeliever when he said,

He would be pitied because it makes no sense to give up the quality of his life to love others if there is no Christ!

The view the atheist has is that they only have this life, one life, one chance at each part of that life to make the most of it. Each day, they seek to meet their needs, physical and emotional, in whatever way(s) they see as best for them. At times the good of others will conflict with their goal. That does not matter. These values are consistent with the thinking of this life being all that there is.  For example, what purpose is there of even making the entire world a better place if they are not going to be in it?  If an atheist chooses to do something for mankind, perhaps it is an attempt to fill a God-sized hole in their heart. If they can keep running toward something they feel is important and fulfilling, then even though the work seems to be selfless, it is anything but selfless. It gives the giver something bigger,, such as a sense of personal fulfillment. And they are doing it the way they want to. Again, consider Paul's statement, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." 

   It is pitiful to live even part of our lives for others if not for Christ. 

The atheist of course believes that humans are the highest life forms on the earth based on intelligence. The next progression is that some humans are more important than others. The smarter, stronger, and faster ones have a better ability to survive. This is what Nazi Germany was all about! This may be better understood if one considers that there is also life in animals and plants. We do not think twice about doing damage to them in order to eat. Few, though there are some, have compassion for the chicken, cow, or fish prepared for a meal. We give no thought to the carrot that is pulled away from everything that gives it life. When it comes to plants and animals, we rightfully so, put ourselves first all the time!

In the same way, the atheist living consistently will put themselves first in every situation even when it involves people. And again, the atheist view is the view of natural man. This is the natural man that each of us have in us, that we must put to death a little bit at a time each and every time we love others.

There is no purpose whatsoever for the natural man to do anything for anyone unless they expect to receive equal or better in return. We naturally want to get the most out of our lives. For example, we go to work and in return receive a paycheck that allows us to purchase things we need or want. So, we trade our labor for what we see as superior. Nobody, living as a natural man who is giving thought to their actions and consequences, trades what is valuable for something less valuable.

Enter God into the picture. More accurately, enter the consciousness of God into our minds. Now, there is something bigger out there, bigger in every way. We see that the source of all good and love is from God. We understand that God has given us something greater than anything we could ever attain by our own efforts, that being eternal life with Him. We have the example of selfless giving for a greater purpose, which is Jesus humbling Himself coming to earth and ultimately dying on a cross. He gave up everything for us. (Phil 2:6-8) He put our needs ahead of His. We see this example that is completely contrary to the life of a person without God, again, this is the natural man. We see this Jesus rise from the dead, and have victory over what we can never have victory over. We see someone living with a greater purpose than attempts at self-fulfillment, at getting all one can get out of life.

   There is someone who has selflessly given and we have to wonder why.

We can not comprehend it fully. (I Cor 13:12) We do catch a glimpse of what love looks like, which is giving of oneself for the benefit of another. This love gave no value to earthly things. It can cause us to think about how much value earthly things have. We now have a chance to realize that all our striving, all our attempts at being good enough can never result in an eternity living in perfection. We simply fall short, very short. When we receive Jesus, we receive a promise of real fulfillment, a greater fulfillment than the world can offer. We receive the gift of eternal life paid for by the blood of Jesus. He took all our sins, all our flaws on Himself so we can enter Heaven. He gave, He loved so we can have eternal life. Then He tells us to do likewise, to give of ourselves for others, to love others as ourselves. We are now His children. (John 1:12)

   We belong to Him. What now? 

We have two lives before us. (Gal 5:17) We have one that part of us wishes to continue to get all we can out of life, even at times at the expense of others. And we have another life, one unseen, one as much greater as the plant is from the seed. (Matt 13:31-32) The truth is that if we understood the incredible Heaven that awaits us, if we only had a moment there, we would once and for all fully understand the futility of attempts at self-fulfillment on this earth.

Gaining the entire world does not compare to the eternity that awaits us.

There are two lives, or think of it as two paths that are in front of us every day, every moment. 

   One path is our way, the way that in the end leads nowhere. The other is Jesus, the Way.

The way of Jesus is contrary to the way of the world.  Better said, the way of the world is contrary to God's way. The way of God is to give, even when it costs everything. We can learn from the mind of Jesus.

Even at the point of the most intense suffering, not only physical but knowing He would be forsaken by the Father, Jesus looked past all that He was losing. In other words, He looked past all that could benefit Him on this earth and allowed Himself to be crucified because He looked beyond to what was far better.

We have that choice, always before us and that choice is whether to keep trying to place ourselves first hoping that will result in a fulfilled life, or as much as imperfect humans can, to let the love of our creator flow through us.

Some may protest that they would never seek pleasure at the expense of others. It is suggested that unless you wish to be spiritually convicted to see the reality of your selfish living, that you skip the rest of this paragraph. We, in the USA, are rich materially. We have brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who do not even have clean water, much less enough food. We live in excess while they live in suffering. Almost every reader has all their physical needs met. Needs are things like safety, warmth, and enough food to be healthy.  Wants are things that although uncomfortable, we can survive without. Those things include going out to eat, having extra clothing, nice furniture, nice cars, or even cars at all, and pets. The average American family spends $3,500/year eating out and $1,000/year on each pet. Less than 50% of people in Kenya can afford more than two meals daily. The average Kenyan spends $2 per day on food. Just an extra $1/day would pay for enough for them to have 3 meals. It is easy to ignore that spending what the average American family does on going out to eat and on one pet would keep 12 people in Kenya from being hungry. Almost every person living in the US makes choices that put our wants, our luxuries ahead of the basic needs of others. If it is a good thing to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, and we do not meet those needs, it is sin.

God, the source of all love initially showed us love while knowing how we would fail, creating us. He then showed the full extent of His love (John 13:1) throughout the life and death of Jesus giving the world a pathway to salvation, that is eternal life.

·       Response:  The natural response to a gift is thankfulness. We have received far more than we deserve. A proper response is to spend more and more time getting to know this giving God through His word and His work in our lives. We emulate His pattern and love others as well.  (I John 4:19)

·       Obedience:  Our flesh, that is our old nature, pulls at us to put ourselves first. Every time we love, we have to give up part of our time, our possessions, give up part of our lives. We put others ahead of us out of obedience. (John 13:34)

·      Compelled:  As we understand more and more the nature of God and the meaning of the work of Jesus on this earth, we take on the nature of God as His children. John the Baptist is an illustration of one who understood the need for decreasing significance compared to Jesus' increasing significance. (John 3:30)

As we mature in Christ, our focus on putting ourselves first decreases, and loving God and others increases.  Paul says " For Christ's love compels us," (2 Cor 5:14a) when he explains his motivation for teaching the truth about Jesus, which is Paul loving others at his own expense.  When we see a need, the compassion of God flows through us and we react by giving of ourselves for another's good. Anything less would go against who we have become.

When we consider the needs of others above our own, when we follow the example given by Jesus, we show ourselves to be legitimate children. It is not like we pass a test of being "real children" but by our action of love, we prove that we have a new Father and that we follow a new way, which is the way of the creator.

   Our action of love is a natural response to the love we have been given.

·       "'Love the Lord your God" Simply put, this means to do what is best for who is in charge (i.e. the Lord), no matter how you feel. This is far easier said than done and so easy to just read and move on.

   Are we thinking and living as if Jesus is Lord and in charge?

What is best for Jesus, that is for the Kingdom of God? More on this subject on the Foundation It is not about us, and our desired way; it is about God

·       with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This means we are to love God with every part of our being.

   Ask yourself, is what is important to God, important to me?

Do we care for God similarly as we might care for our spouse or our child? Do we think often about God, and what His desires are for us? Jesus makes how to love Him clear:  "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15

·       This is the first and greatest commandment.  We need to stop here and spend some time considering that the above commands about loving God is the greatest commandment. This is the single most important part of our relationship with God and all that we are and all that we do must have this as our foundation. God made it so simple and yet so hard at the same time. It is simple because we are to simply put what is important to God ahead of what is important to us.

   It is hard because loving God is in conflict with loving ourselves.

·       And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' This means to do what is best for our "neighbor," which is defined in the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:29-37) We are commanded as we go through life to consider the needs of others along with our needs and to meet those needs with the same value we give to meeting our own. Again, it is so very simple and it is so very hard because our natural selves want to put ourselves first.

·       All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." This is great news for anyone who wants to know how to please God. It however, leaves little room for pride of accomplishment because we will find ourselves always falling short of putting God in the position of Lord and treating others equally with ourselves.

The following passage explains so well the source of love, what we are to do, and what it means if we do not. It is so simple and must not be glossed over.

Below is part of I John 4 reorganized by topics. Give thought to how important these points are that they are repeated so much in the same paragraph.

a)     Source: 

·       for love comes from God.

·       This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins

·       we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

b)     Demonstration: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world

c)     Commands: 

·       Dear friends, let us love one another, 

·       we also ought to love one another  

d)     Reason: 

·       since God so loved us, 

·       We love because he first loved us.

·       "that we might live through him" 

 e)    Test of adoption:  (Also I John 3:17-18)

The most difficult passages above are what could be called the "Test of Adoption."  Verse 8, 19, and 20 may be a formal indictment to those who only pay lip-service to their belief system claims. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen."

   We show the legitimacy of the work of God's love in our lives by showing love to others.

It is the fruit, the evidence that we have truly received the gift of the sacrifice of God through Jesus. One might say, "How could we receive such an incredible gift and not feel so blessed beyond what we deserve that we would not share?"

the love chapter clearly discusses and explains love.

Love is more important than speaking the language of angels, prophecy, the depths of knowledge, and supernatural powers.

Love is more important than sacrifice, even unto death.

Love encompasses all that is good and does not exist in anything bad.

Love, the greatest of all, never fails even when the earth is no more.

·       Because we were loved first.

·       It is all-encompassing.

·       The entire law is summed up in a single command:

·       An emphasis on the poor (Deut 15:7-8, 11 Psalm 41:1 Proverbs 19:17, 22:9 31:8-9 Isa 1:17 58:6-7 Luke 3:10-11 12:33-34) 

·       Loving others 

·       Loving enemies

In the following passage, the word love is not even mentioned. However, this passage sums up love from beginning to end. The verses are reorganized below to be in chronological order. In other words, consider what Jesus did and then the command to us. 

Breaking it down - Phil 2:3-8

 This sentence speaks for itself. The following verses explain what that attitude is. 

Can we even have a grasp of what it was like to be the creator and become the creation from being an eternal spirit to taking on human flesh? No. However if we are to be obedient to the command to have the same attitude as Jesus, we have to, at a minimum, make an effort and continue to make efforts until we come to the end of ourselves and stand or bend over and cry in worship to God for this incredible sacrifice. We can ask to have a glimpse so we can have at least a bit of the same attitude.

   The attitude is clearly one of setting aside the comfort of what is best for us, and to be willing to give it all up.

 Can we grasp the attitude that will give everything for a people who are so undeserving? This is why we are to do what is best for our enemies. Because we were enemies of Christ when He died for us.  He gave us His all!

This passage may have more clarity with some definitions.  Nothing means "Nothing." That is important to make note of. Selfish ambition is wanting things our way. Vain conceit is thinking we are better than we are. Our attitude and subsequently our actions should not include either of these. How much of our time spent with others are we interested in not doing things the way we want? It is supposed to be none.

This is the attitude of Jesus when He came to earth and when He went to the cross. This is the attitude that we are commanded to have.

   This should bring us to our knees before God admitting that we are seldom able to love right.

The times we do, we may be proud of our sacrifice and have pride, which is just another sin. We can not do it on our own but we can do all things through Christ. (Phil 4:13)

This is a mirror of the second great commandment. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'