God is Love

"If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands." John 14:15, AMP

If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. In the previous post, I used 1 Corinthians 13 as a reference for love. The attributes of love are patience, compassion or kindness, forgiveness, and endurance amongst other things. But it seems as if that word is over used to the point of complacency. Some may say they love their clothes, they love their car, they love drinking, or they love smoking. Is that what love is? Has it really been reduced to that?

As I ponder this scripture, I think about the absolute meaning of love. Love is God. Isn’t He patient? He has been and still is patient with me. He searches my heart and nourishes my soul. He teaches when I feel like I’ve had enough “classes” for the week. He’s there to guide me back when I choose to take side roads. And for many who haven’t accepted Him, just as He did for me, He stands at the door and knocks, patiently waiting for His invitation to come in, not to just visit, but to reside.

God is compassionate. If we got what we deserved, this would be a sad day, but God is compassionate. Compassion is a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering and a willingness to do something about it. Although it was man who had sinned against God through disobedience, He had compassion. He did something about our sinful nature through Jesus Christ. He knew that we would suffer through our own actions of not keeping His word, so He sent Jesus. Compassion is a characteristic of love that God shows every time we come to Him.

God is forgiving. No matter how many times we may fall, He is ready to forgive. How many of us do that? Again, we can lock ourselves up in a prison that we’ve built for someone else through unforgiveness and that person has gone on with their life, smiling and laughing while we may sulk. To forgive does not mean that it was okay for them to do us wrong, it just means that we won’t hold that against them. What if God was unforgiving? What if He held every wrong we’ve ever done against us? God’s love is unconditional.

God is enduring. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s not changing. What a standard to govern our lives by. He does not complain, He does not rejoice in evil, and He does not fail. He sets forth standards that will profit us, not tear us down. He uplifts and encourages, he teaches and corrects those whom He loves. We ought to obey because we love Him too. We do it not because we are trying to be saved, we do it because we are saved. It should be a natural desire to please Him. He wants for us to show Him that we love Him. He does so much to show us that He loves us; all He asks is for us (His children) to show Him that we love Him too. “If you love Me. You will keep My commandments.”

Additional References: 1 Corinthians 13, John 14:15, Revelation 3:20, Hebrews 12:5-7, Hebrews 13:8, Galatians 2:19-21