Love is not just a word, it is a powerful force that evokes life and even moves God. Love is not just a word. Simple words like “I love you!” Are heavy and laden with weight, expectations, desires, and responsibilities. As I said, Love is not just a word; to prove me right, the bible tells us that God is love. (1 John 4:7-21) If God can be “Love”, again I would repeat that Love is not just a word.
The very essence of our living is borne out of love. We are made to understand that God created us because He loves us. And we were created like no other but in the image and likeness of God. It is like a couple consummating a marriage after their wedding ceremony, and they say “..now let us make babies!” So at the dawn of creation, our existence was considered and God said: “…Let us make man in our own image and of our likeness.” (Gen. 1:26) We were ranked above every other creation… this is/was the effect of love. Do we even know who we are and what we are worth?
Gen 1: 26 – 28
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[a] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,[b] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings[c] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.
Then from grace, we fell, and we lost our place with God. But how can love hate? So God who is love planned to redeem us and prepared a plan that allows our gift of free will to choose if we do reciprocate God’s love. John 3:16 explains; “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him would not die but have everlasting life.” We needed to be elevated back to grace, into the divinity that was desired for us at the very beginning.
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
To redeem us, God had to pay the price. God’s justice remains his justice which demands reparation. Jesus is the reparation, Jesus is the ransom to save us from God’s judgement. God is just and He has acted justly by condemning man for his disobedience and then (because He is love and loves man) providing the repayment for the sin…. because man is incapable of redeeming himself and God loves man so much not to lose him.
Can this be love? “No greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13… It is like God laying down His life to redeem man… in fact, that is what it is… Yes, he has the power to lay it down and the power to take it back. John 10:18. What manner of love is this? I’d rather say; what manner of wisdom and power is at work? It was the love of God that evoked this wisdom and power. So whatever your case may be, God has the wisdom and power to save you because he loves you.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
In this special season of the Passion Week, the close of Lent and the preparation for Easter, we would experience the enactment of the love and sacrifice we find so rare being expressed by Jesus. He lays down his life! He suffers! He dies! Can this not be love? This wisdom has been questioned by many. Some tag it suicidal. Some tag it as unbelievable.
Many ask, why should Jesus die? Why should Jesus suffer? For many, there is no sense in it. God’s ways can never be our ways! God’s seeming foolishness is far greater than our wisdom. (1 Corinthian 1:25 – 27). It is written, the consequence of sin is death. For the fall of man (Adam), we have been condemned to death. The fall of Adam was based on disobedience. Jesus’ death was the reparation and his obedience to the will of the father is the significance of the glory He has won for us.
1 Corinthians 1:25-27
25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
Another point we can deduce is that God is just, and when He gives a law, God Himself honours His word. If God’s word pronounces death for the sin of man, then the death and debt must be paid, period! Remember, the fall of man was at the beginning of time, And it was at that point of the fall of man that God chose to redeem man. It was at the beginning of time that Jesus prepared to die for man. Ultimately, Jesus’ death on the cross is proof of God’s love: right from the very beginning. How can this not be love?
Again I repeat, love is not a word. God is love and love is God. On Good Friday, we enact the expression of God (love) to the world. Why does He love us so? Are we that important to God? Are we that special to God? If God has done this much to win us back, what is really holding us from fully accepting God’s love? What should separate us from the love of God? God’s love towards us and our love towards Him…
Romans 8:38-39
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To appreciate the bible passage better read Romans 8: 31-39.
As we prepare for Easter, remember Good Friday, is good because it is the day of redemption. It is the day of ultimate love. On Good Friday when you listen to the tale of the suffering and death of Jesus, never you ask – Can this be love?
In the beginning, I said simple words like “I love you!” are heavy and laden with weight, expectations, desires, and responsibilities. God loves us and He is aware of His role in this love for man. Do you love God? And are you ready for the responsibilities that come with it?
I wish you a life filled with God’s love!