True Love
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Remember how as a child on Valentine's Day you would anxiously await a gift from your crush? Then, the next year, it would be a different crush and you wondered if they would remember you on this special day.
Well, this type of puppy love is the love we share when we live a life apart from God. It's fleeting, superficial, and has no real depth or meaning.
God gave us the perfect example of how true love should be. He gave His Son, the perfect, spotless Lamb, as a sacrifice for our sinful nature. He loved us when we were most unworthy. Deep in our sins and determined to live life on our own terms, God loved us. His love is unfathomable as we could never aspire to achieve it on our own. Yet, He gave His love unconditionally knowing that many would reject it.
Taking this example, Christians should strive to love others unconditionally. Yes, we will fail often times, but we must take the example given to us to share God's love with this lost and dying world. He loved us in our sin, so we have no excuse to not love our fellow man in theirs.
Albert Barnes said this in his commentary, "But that he loved us - Not that he approved our character, but that he desired our welfare. He loved us not with the love of complacency, but with the love of benevolence."
If we love conditionally, we are loving with the puppy love of the world and not that of God. Loving sinners does not mean we approve of their sins, but the love we share shows that despite their sin, God wants a loving relationship with them.
C
Remember how as a child on Valentine's Day you would anxiously await a gift from your crush? Then, the next year, it would be a different crush and you wondered if they would remember you on this special day.
Well, this type of puppy love is the love we share when we live a life apart from God. It's fleeting, superficial, and has no real depth or meaning.
God gave us the perfect example of how true love should be. He gave His Son, the perfect, spotless Lamb, as a sacrifice for our sinful nature. He loved us when we were most unworthy. Deep in our sins and determined to live life on our own terms, God loved us. His love is unfathomable as we could never aspire to achieve it on our own. Yet, He gave His love unconditionally knowing that many would reject it.
Taking this example, Christians should strive to love others unconditionally. Yes, we will fail often times, but we must take the example given to us to share God's love with this lost and dying world. He loved us in our sin, so we have no excuse to not love our fellow man in theirs.
Albert Barnes said this in his commentary, "But that he loved us - Not that he approved our character, but that he desired our welfare. He loved us not with the love of complacency, but with the love of benevolence."
If we love conditionally, we are loving with the puppy love of the world and not that of God. Loving sinners does not mean we approve of their sins, but the love we share shows that despite their sin, God wants a loving relationship with them.
C
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Amen!