The Good Of The Father (A Love Like No Other)

 

And we know and believe the love which God has in us.  God is love, and he who is remaining in love is remaining in God, and God is remaining in him

First Epistle of John 4: 16, Concordant New Testament 

For some reason, I found myself watching a match making reality program the other day.  As far as I could tell, the purpose of this charade was to bring together single people with the intent of matching them with someone compatible with them.  This would have been the usual boring fare except for one young lady who claimed that her motivation for appearing on the show was to "Find someone to love me for who I am."  Now, this struck a chord with me because I myself have felt this way at times in my own life.  I mean, who doesn't want to be loved, right?  Too many people spend a lifetime in their search for this love relationship.  Far too many fail in their quest to find it.  More still find a feeling disguised as love, but in the end is nothing like love at all.  I can recall speaking to more than a few people involved in abusive relationships who only remained in them because they hoped that they would eventually lead to the love which they desired for themselves.  My own parents lived such a relationship.  Thankfully, my mother had the intuition to see that my dad would not change his ways.  This is a story repeated too many times for too many people.  Again, it is natural that we would desire someone to love and to love.  But what if these people found that love which accepted them no matter what they had done?  A love that, through the good and the bad, continued in its affection for them.  Well, this love can be found in the love which God has for us.  Growing up in the church theology, my image of God was one of a distant Father.  A Father who would love me one minute, but then withdraw His love the moment that I misbehaved or did something to displease Him.  The truth is, this is NOT the love of God.  For the love which God has for His children transcends any love which our human hearts can imagine.  The love of God is not abusive.  Furthermore, the love of God is never based on what we may or may not have done.  It is God who has loved us even before our first breath {First Epistle of John 4:19}.  It is God who will love us at our best and our worst.  This is the love of God, a love like no other.  

Perceive what manner of love the Father has given us, that we may be called children of God!  And we are!  Therefore the world does not know us, for it did not know Him

First Epistle of John 3: 1, Concordant New Testament 

How many times have you felt this way in your life?  That feeling that God could never love you because of what you had done in your life.  Well, I've spent a good portion of my life fighting off these feelings.  There are times that I've been my own worst enemy when it comes to my own relationship with God.  I'm well aware of those things that I've done in my life which the Father does not approve of.  There were days when the guilt and shame of my actions clouded my own view of Gods perfect love for me.  How could God love someone like me?  Simple, I am His creation {Genesis 1:27}.  In love I was created, and it is in love that I remain in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Too many people look upon God as being judgmental, but this isn't who He truly is at all.  For we're told that the one true nature of God...is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  For their part, the mainstream church has failed when it comes to speaking to the love nature of the Father.  They would rather speak of a God who holds the threat of an eternity in hell over our heads if we fail to live as He desires.  Again, this is not who He is at all.  It is because of Gods love for us that He dispatched His Son to be that sacrifice for our sins {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  It is because of the love of Jesus that He became sin and gave Himself willingly for us {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  He did all of this for us, out of His love for us.  Does that sound judgmental to you?  What love is there that, upon being found guilty, would do away with our transgressions and declare us clean in His sight?  Only the love of the Father.  A love like no other.  

~Scott~