One of the first verses I memorized as a child is actually only part of a verse. It’s a simple sentence: often repeated and little understood: God is love.
A common misconception about God is that He HAS love for humanity. But if He has love, it could be less tomorrow than today. The foundational attribute of God’s nature is love. God IS love—He doesn’t have it, He is it. This means His love cannot fluctuate or discriminate.
I think we are afraid if we emphasize God’s love “too much” , we’ll give people a “license” to sin. So we emphasize judgment, in direct contradiction to God’s Word!
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” John_ There is a time of judgement coming. Scripture is clear about that. But that time is not during this time of grace. “For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him… “And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sin of the whole world.” 1 John_ “While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.”Romans_ “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord, and not rather that he should turn from his evil way and return [to his God] and live?” Ezekiel_ It’s impossible to wrap our finite, conditional minds around God’s infinite, unconditional love. The best we can do is either accept the person and his sin and call it unconditional love—which it isn’t—or angrily reject both the person and his sin and call it “righteous indignation”—which it isn’t!
What if instead, we would do what Jesus said: “Love others the way I have loved you.” He loved people while never approving their sin. He entered into our humanity, joining the human family tree so that He could destroy the black mold of sin and death from the inside out. Paul tells us God was motivated by love and a desire to share that love for all eternity: “He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians_ Infinite Grace Ministries is a teaching/counseling ministry that offers guidance in relationships, based on the Truth of God’s love for humanity made visible in Christ Jesus. Call 580-774-2884 for your one-on-one appointment today!
