In the summer of 1998 the Lord had me memorize 1 Corinthians 13. I called it “the summer of love.” It was the time when God began to teach me about His love and the importance of it in my life, as a “believer” and disciple.

Take some time to read the passage and really “chew on and digest” its message. It teaches us about the excellence of love. Without having its message written on the tablets of our hearts we miss the very heart of what God wants to communicate to us about His eternal plan and will for our lives.

In essence it teaches us that without love all spiritual gifts and religious acts are meaningless.

In verses 4-7 God gives us a clear model of what love looks like. It outlines how God loves us and how He expects us to love one another:

“Love Is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

This is a beautiful plumb line for us to see if we’re truly obeying God’s call on our lives. Are we patient? Are we kind? It’s not always easy. We all come from imperfect childhoods, imperfect parents, imperfect relationships and imperfect ideas and notions of what love is.

Thankfully, the Bible also teaches us in 1 John 4:7 that love is from God, because God is love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:7-11)

In this passage we learn that love is from God and He wants us to experience His Love, and share it.

Through our faith in Jesus/Yeshua’s sacrifice, God’s life, which emanates from His Love, lives inside of us. God’s eternal life is not only measured in duration, as life that goes on forever. It is also quality. To the extent that we receive God’s Love for ourselves then we can, in turn, share it with each other. When that happens we experience the joy that comes from the abundant, “quality” life that Jesus promised us in John 10:10.

“…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Just like two people in love spend time together enjoying the experience of that love, God wants us to take the time to bask in His endless supply of perfect and limitless Love.

He wants us to go higher and deeper. He wants us to be rooted and grounded in love. He wants to impart to us more of who He is through His divine Love. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

This happens through meditation and reflection on what the Word says about Love.  It happens through times of prayer and times of silent worship of God with the goal of simply declaring our love for God, and receiving His Love for us.

We need to repent of wrong perceptions of God’s Love that have been passed down to us from our parents and other relationships. God’s Love is perfect Love.

As we make room in our hearts and minds for more of God’s Love, vital foundations will be built up that enable us to share that love with each another.

Then we’ll be able to obey what Yeshua told us are the two most important commandments; to love God and to love one another (Matthew 22:36-40).  When we begin to do this we’ll see God work fantastic miracles in and through our lives and we’ll get a taste of eternal joy in our lives on earth now.

God’s Love is so awesome and multi faceted. From my experience, knowing His Love is a life long pursuit and progression, but as we do, not only are our insecurities and wrong attitudes melted away, but we’re drawn into the beauty of God’s other attributes. His awesome Holiness, Wisdom, Goodness and Perfection are all found within His Love. None of God’s attributes can be separated from each other. In light of this truth, when we walk in God’s Love with reverential fear and thanksgiving our lives are certain to mirror the life of Messiah, and isn’t that what it’s all about in the long run.

Oh, that we may reflect the glory of our beloved Savior!

Father, I pray that as people read this, their hearts and minds are flooded with the truth of Your magnificent love for them. Help them receive more of Your love and in turn be holy vessels who carry that love into the lives of the people around them. Teach them, by Your Holy Spirit, to choose to live loved and “love” and to recognize when they’re experiencing or displaying “not-love” and repent. Do this Lord so that greater blessings fall on their lives and so that You receive greater glory. It’s in Yeshua’s precious and holy name that I pray.