E105 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - The Attribute of GOD - His Love - Part 6 of 6

Hope’s Harbor

Gritty Bible Devotions

Episode #105

Title: The Attribute of GOD – His Love – Part 6 of 6

Date: May 8, 2023

Contact: info@hopesharbor.net

Key verse(s): 1 John 4:7 – ‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.’

In this verse where it reads ‘for love is of GOD,’ can mean love is from GOD. This is an important distinction to correctly understand GOD’s nature as it concerns His love.

Intro: In this final episode of the Attributes of GOD series, His love is a great truth to grasp, not only grasped by our minds but by our hearts.

Devotion focus: True and pure love is of GOD –

Let’s take the following verse apart and uncover a startling truth about GOD:

1 John 4:16 – ‘And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.’

For much of my Christian life, I’ve heard GOD is love. The same with GOD is light, and I never questioned my understanding of these two verses until reading the chapter on GOD’s Love in Tozer’s book, Knowledge of the Holy.

Let me see if I can explain what he put forth without getting into deep weeds. This means lost, by the way.

First, we must understand all pure love comes from GOD. It originates with GOD, has its power from GOD, and is an outflowing aspect of GOD’s nature.

But… to say GOD is love as if love equals GOD and GOD equals love is not correct. Again, love is an outflowing aspect of GOD’s nature. Love does not sum up GOD. It feels like I’m splitting hairs here and I don’t mean to, it’s just that it’s important to have a correct belief in GOD’s nature if we want ‘to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.’ And that’s from 2 Peter 3:18.

Let me see if this example helps: The Bible says GOD is light. But to say all light is GOD would be like saying a weaponized laser beam is GOD. See what I mean?

Snap. I’m in deep weeds, aren’t I? Alright, enough of all that.

GOD’s love – what is it in our everyday lives? I had to think about this one for some time before coming to this answer. It is the means by which GOD extends to us all His blessings. A theologian may disagree. But when thinking about the greatest commandment, Jesus said this in Matthew 22:37&38:

VS 37 – ‘Jesus said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.

VS 38 – “This is the first and great commandment.”

This commandment infers we give all our heart, mind, and emotions to GOD because we love Him who first loved us. And so GOD gave us love as a means to give back what He already gave us. The Bible's doctrine of surrender touches this as giving up our right to ourselves to GOD.

This of it this way: GOD held nothing back when He gave us His Son as a gift of love. Likewise, we should hold nothing back when we give Him our all. But be careful here. The human tendency to legalism, that is, the false belief we must earn GOD’s favor, will take this to mean everything of our standing as children of GOD depends on works. Not so.

Listen to Paul describe all work for GOD not based on love. This is found in 1Co 13:1-3:

VS 1 – ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

VS 2 – ‘And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

VS 3 – ‘And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.’

Summary: GOD’s love is an aspect of His nature by which He conveys blessings to us through the means of grace, and involves all His attributes. This is because GOD is one Being and looking at His attributes may be thought of as looking at the facets of a single diamond.

Action to consider: Decide for yourself what is the best blessing you’ve enjoyed so far as a result of GOD’s love for you. Write it down on a 3x5 card, keep it handy, and thank GOD for His love each time you look at that card.

Next week’s devotion: Christianity vs Religion