Looking back on the last 7 weeks of posts and trying to wrap my mind around the vastness of our Father’s love is just so indescribable to me. But if I could sum it up it would come to this, God’s love is a lavished love without conditions and limits. It comes freely with no strings attached and no expectations. His love never grows tired, weary, or discontent with us. His love is patient, kind and respectful. It honors and elevates, hopes in and protects our hearts. His love is never boastful, proud, rude or arrogant. Our Father’s love is serving and selfless. It is slow to anger and abounding in adoration for us. It keeps no records of our mistakes and it carries our sins upon its shoulders. The precious love of God is rich in grace and mercy and drenched with compassion. His love rejoices over us with wholehearted zeal. His love yearns to be with us so much so that it causes Him to passionately pursue a relationship with us. This just scratches the surface of God’s love, but it has been enough to prove to my insecure self that I have a daddy who loves me more than words can even express and in my moments of doubt I find myself needing to rehearse these very words you have just read about His love. I know that this journey of discovering God’s love is not over, but I have just been simply undone by the immensity of it all! My prayer is that you have been able to discover some beautiful truths about our Heavenly Father’s love for you and that it profoundly affects your heart for eternity.
We have spent five weeks discussing 1 Corinthians 13:5-7, but what is important to note is the verses that precede this section of scripture.
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Love trumps all the giftings and talents we might have. There is nothing in our talents, abilities or God-given giftings that can withstand the test of time. When we operated without God’s love it is only a matter of time before someone recognizes that we are in it for the love of self. When we get right down to it, if we don’t have a love for God, we have a love of self, and that is precisely the kind of love the world recognizes as flakey, fakey and a bunch of bologna. Everything about us must be married and interwoven with God’s love flowing in us and through us or we truly are worth nothing to this world. Let’s face it, this world has enough talented people who do not love with the love of Christ, we certainly don’t need to add to that list of individuals. We don’t want to be the resounding gong in the ears of this unbelieving world, but rather the tender whisper of the precious love of Christ. That tender whisper will draw those around us to our Heavenly Father.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
There are so many hidden truths yet to be revealed to my heart, but one thing I know for sure God’s love is the most important truth my heart needs to grab hold of and never let go. As we close out this series on love, I pray that your heart is drawn ever closer to the steadfast love of our Heavenly Father. He loves you to the cross and back.
Our precious Lord, there are no words to express the gratitude in our hearts for your unfailing love you have for us. Thank you for flooding us with a kind of love that chases after us in a very passionate way. Help us to grasp how wide, how long, how high and how deep your love is for us so that we can be a vessel used to pour out your love into a lost and dying world. Lord, we do not want to be a clanging gong in the ears of others, but rather a sweet and tender whisper that draws many to your feet. Let your love in us be evident to everyone we meet. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
To read the other posts from this series on God’s love please go to the Love series page.
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