God's Love, Our Love

Last week I wrote a blog on the 5 Tests of True Love. I made the point that true love is only possible through a right relationship with God. Once we enter a right relationship with God through the work and person of Jesus we actually have God’s love that we then can share with others. When we allow God's love to pass through us to other people, that is actually a test of our relationship with God. If we want to make sure we are passing the test we need to know that we are loving with God's love. So, how can we know it is God's love and not our love?

6 Signs a Person Has God's Love

The first sign of God's love is being in a right relationship with God. As I mentioned above this is the key unlocking God's love to flow through us. The way to a right relationship with God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The second sign of God's love is Jesus working through us. Jesus must become the boss of our life. We must get to know Him and what He is like, what He desires, and we must begin to emulate Him. This will show us the kind of love that God has for the world.

The third sign of God's love is a complete understanding of why Jesus came to the earth. The essentials of the Christian faith are key to allowing God's love to be fully understood. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, healed the sick, taught the truths about God, willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin, died on a cruel cross, rose again after three days, appeared to many people after His death, and then ascended to be with God the Father. Jesus came to the earth for this purpose: to place on full display what God's love really looks like.

The fourth sign of God's love is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus left the earth, but He sent a helper to guide us in all truth. The Holy Spirit directs our steps but most importantly the Holy Spirit is the conduit of God's love through us to the world. 

The fifth sign of God's love is not living in fear. If you could give everyone a truth serum they would admit to fear of the unknown and fear of what comes after death. Fear is a natural part of life. Those who are in a right relationship with God however, have overcome that fear with the love that God has for them. You can only experience that love and lack of fear when you are in a right relationship with God. There may be moments of doubt but a follower of Jesus lives in love not in fear.

The sixth sign and most obvious sign of God's love is seen in how we treat people. Despite false claims, Christians have accomplished great things for those in need throughout history. These acts of kindness, care, and compassion are borne out of the love Christians experience from God and the desire to pass that love on to others.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

 

Proud Father!

I have been blessed with 3 wonderful children. This is a special month for two of them, because they are graduating from their respective schools. Jonathan, my oldest, is graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre. Stephen, my middle child, is graduating from Putnam City North High School. 

I am very proud of these two young men for several reasons. The most important being, they have both acknowledged and surrendered to God’s call on their lives. 

Jonathan is very committed to the talent that God has given him in the area of acting. He will be pursuing his career in acting this fall and really for the rest of his working life. He is very gifted and I know God will use him as he submits to God’s direction. 

Stephen is very committed to the call that God has given him to preach the Word of God. He will begin his theological and pastoral studies in the fall at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and College in Kansas City. He is very passionate about God’s Word and I know God will use him as he also submits to God’s direction. 

It is a special person who hears, acknowledges, and submits to God’s call on their life. I have two sons who, although very different, have both heard from God! A father couldn’t ask for anything more for his children. The best place for a person is right in the very center of God’s will!

I love you Jonathan and Stephen and I am very proud to call you my sons! Go with God!

True Love

There seems to be a great deal of confusion lately about what love is and what love isn't. This might be because people are fairly liberal with the use of the word, love. I say, "I love my wife.", "I love chocolate cake." and, "I love the OKC Thunder." While each of these statements are true, they should have a slightly different meaning for the word, love. So, it is important that we understand what true love really is. Here are some tests to help determine if love is true love or not.

5 Tests of True Love

1.  True love cannot be hidden, it will be displayed. Love will be on display for all the world to see and proud of it. When my wife and I got married, we held our ceremony in a public place and gladly invited our friends and family. To this day I proudly wear the same ring she gave me on that day. This is just an example of love on display.

2.  True love has only one standard, total sacrifice. The one standard for love is total sacrifice. This example and standard was set for the world to see when Jesus willingly gave himself on a cruel cross. This standard is still the expectation of those who follow Jesus and is the true standard for love to this day.

3.  True love can be confirmed, by actions. It is one thing to say, “I love you.” In fact, that is a pretty simple and basic thing to do. However, it is a completely different thing to show, “I love you.” From a very early age children in healthy homes learn to say, “I love you.” That doesn’t mean they know how to show love. It takes a mature and truly loving person to show love.

4. True love begins with the keeping of God’s commands. The place to start when you have a desire to truly love, is to show you love God by keeping His commands. Jesus even told us this when he said the two greatest commands were to love God and love people. The truth is, you can’t truly love people until you have first learned to love God.

5.  True love is only possible through a right relationship with God. People are not capable of loving unconditionally by their own power. We, by nature, are too selfish. When we learn to allow God to love through us, then we can display true love. The Bible said it best, “we are able to love because He first loved us.” God loved us by sending Jesus to die in our place. That is true love!