Our fight in this life is not a matter of who we are or what we have acquired; it is a matter of how much we love and remain in Christ despite our trials and triumphs. If we are not careful, we can even let our triumphs keep us from pursuing Jesus. When you have received God’s love and have been given the revelation from the Holy Spirit, the enemy will do whatever he can to cause you to doubt God’s love for you or cause you to think His love is not enough to satisfy you in life. He will attempt for people to seek love and acceptance from anyone or anything besides God. Friend desiring love from others is risky because you don’t fully know people’s intentions. But with God, Scripture tells us, no evil is found in Him (Psalm 92:15). When we can approach God with praise and love for Him without always having to ask Him for something, that is when we become a people after His heart. Seeking His heart is the door into the fullness of who is; as a result, you will receive His good portion for your life.
God’s love is overwhelming. In the Christian community, we’ve become familiar with it being unconditional, a love that works cannot earn. Unfortunately many bask in the wonders of His love but easily forget to love Him in return. In other words, do we truly love God in spirit and truth? Do we express this love in how we live our lives and treat others? In Isaiah 29:13, God says, “ These people say they love me. They show honor to me with words. But their hearts are far from me. The honor they show me is nothing but human rules they have memorized.”
John 3:16 tells us, “ For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But God did not send Jesus to die in our place to have one-sided relationship with people, where He’s the only one expressing His love toward us. The death of Christ was also to reconcile us to God the Father (Colossians 19-20; 2Corinthians5:18-19). The purpose of reconciliation is to reestablish a relationship that was broken. Jesus’s death gave us eternal life but also access to knowing God the way He does! God never wanted you to seek Him just to escape hell, receive blessings, deliverance, and breakthrough, but to fellowship with Him.
Before the gospel came to the Jews, they believed in the living God and feared Him; however, like many people today, they connected with Him through means of the flesh rather than the Spirit. God’s love should compel us to pursue Him and know Him as Lord and our constant friend, in addition to being our creator and judge. Israelites in the Old Testament and even some modern-day Jews and Christian understood/understand God as creator but not as the lover of their soul, as their Father, or as their friend/constant companion. Before Apostle Paul received Christ as his Savior and Lord, he was not an atheist nor did he practiced a pagan religion; Paul was a Jew who knew the (Law) Torah religiously. Though Paul believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he was not in love with Him. He could not recognize God’s love through the Holy Scriptures until Jesus, the Son of God, encountered him. The Bible describe Paul as being very zealous when it came to the Law, but yet, Paul lacked something of great importance in his spiritual journey. What was missing in Paul’s life was not more zeal for God; it was love for God (Read Matthew 22:37). Since his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damasus, Paul realized knowing the Law was not enough to attain righteousness and eternal life, nor the pardoning of his sins.
Paul in Galatians 5:1-6 explains to the church in Galatia, “ You who are trying to be justified by the Law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Paul could say this because he had come to understand if one truly claims to have faith in God, revere God, or the gospel message, his or her faith must be expressed through love. I believe by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, this love that is being referenced here is God’s love for us, but it does not end there; it is our faith in God expressed through our love for God. His love is overwhelming because it’s meant to move us to invite Him in every area of our lives and to give Him glory.
When one has truly encountered God’s love, he or she can’t stay the same. Our faith in Him will be expressed through our love for Him as He said it best, in us showing it in the way we live and us communing/fellowshipping with Him- not just merely “saying” we do or owning a Bible, or having a tattoo verse or “God first” in our social media bio, to show others our faith/prove our faith in Him. Friend, it is when we approach God with praise and love on Him without asking for anything, but desire to be with Him, our faith in Him is truly evident to God, ourselves, and others. Don’t you see? This is seeking God’s heart, which is the way in knowing Him intimately, and as a result, receive His good portion for your life and never having to doubt whether you’re saved because He is your salvation and refuge.
Until next time…. Stay encouraged!
JLP
JLP Network 