Justin J. Petrick

Whether a person is born again or not, the love they not only receive or experience,  but also the love they have to give to others is the love of God.  Love is in this very natural realm, because of God.  Love is the very nature of God because it is God (1 John 4:8).  Therefore, if there was no god there would be no love in this world, for love would not exist.

This is why there is no way to prove love or to see it manifest tangibly, to scientifically measure it or guage it.  Science cannot prove its evolution nor its origination.  This is because love never had an beginning, for it is God.

Being that love is God, we can only conclude that the only way we are to love others is through the love that we are given from God.  And if we are given love from God, the only way we can love God is by His love.  If you recall, in the Old Testament Law we are told to love others as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18).  However, when God writes His new law on our hearts upon salvation, we are told to do something even greater.  To love others as God loves us.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”   – John 13:34 NIV

God has given us this perfect love of His, that we can not only love others, but love HIm.  So, how do we receive His love so that we can love others, even God?

By accepting His forgiveness.

“I tell you, her sins–and they are many–have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” – Luke 7:47 NLT

In Luke 7:47, why did Mary Magdelen show Jesus much love?  Because she knew that she had been forgiven MUCH!  The greatest way for you to be able to love others, is by accepting the purest form of love in the galaxy, the forgiveness of God.  If you believe that you are forgiven little, or sometimes, it will directly affect your ability to love others.  In fact, it will directly affect your ability to receive God’s love, thereby affecting your ability to love even Him.

And this is one of the greatest factors I find in those who are having difficulty with the Christian walk, or feeling distant from God, is they are having difficultly receiving God’s love.  In fact, I believe this is one of the hardest things for us to do, to simply let God love us.  This is laboring to enter His rest.  It is the constant battle to simply allow God to spoil us with His love when at times, it doesn’t make sense to us because we are imperfect.  We beat ourselves over our heads by judging our imperfect actions.  We judge ourselvse and assume how God sees us, rather than believing in the perfection of God and His perfect love for us.

This is why the old covenant, or the Old Testament Law was made null and void (Hebrews 7:18), because it depended on man keeping it (Hebrews 9:20), or our ability to be righteous based on being perfect, or following the 10 commandments at all times.  This is why the Old Testament Law did not work, because we are imperfect.  In fact, the only thing it did do was make us conscious of sin (Romans 3:20).  Now, because of the cross, in the New Covenant our righteousness is based on the ability of one man to keep the New Covenant with God, through His perfection and not ours, which is Jesus Christ.  We are made perfect because Christ exchanged His righteousness for our sin, and forgiving us.  That is perfect love.

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. – Hebrews 9:15 NIV

When one understands God sees them perfect and blameless, only then can they truly believe they are forgiven much. And to understand that we are truly forgiven for everything we have done and will do, is when we can truly receive God’s love.  And by receiving this perfect love of God, we are not only able to love others as God loves us, but in fact, we are able to love God through living by faith.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God.” – Hebrews 11:6