God is Love

My father was a math teacher and coach.  I learned early as a young boy that “is” means “equals”…2+2 is 4, or 2+2=4.  We can use that truth in every area of life.  Michael uses it to show one of the most exciting and most victorious results of this simple truth of “is.”  Have you been missing out on the magnitude and the power of what happens when we bring “love” into any situation?

God Is Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. --I John 4:7-9

God is love. We are not told that God is understanding and reason, for these two do not bring lasting change at the core of man’s being. We are not told that God is willpower or emotion, for these also leave man unchanged.No, God is love. This simple statement affects every area of life. I have seen bumper stickers, protest posters, and music stating, “All we need is love.” That is true, but if God is love then we are just as correct to say, “All we need is God.” It is impossible to bring love into any situation--marriage, world affairs, politics, or relationships--without bringing in God, its source. So often in personal discipling I am made aware of the hatred couples have for each other, man has for himself and others, and families have for its members. It is easy to talk of understanding, false concepts of others, and learning to walk a mile in others’ shoes; however, as I speak of those things I see the strong resolve on the faces of the offended to continue hating. Therefore, God must always be brought into the equation. Where there is no Jehovah there is no love, period! 

I remember getting in on a political discussion with atheistic friends from another country and now living in the U.S. In the middle of the discussion I said that I wanted to tell a story, and I told one about Jesus. When I finished I noticed that their collective countenance had changed; the looks of frustration from concentrating on the inconsistencies of government gave way to peace and contentment, yet they were not believers. If we are created by Him and held together by Him, then the very mention of His name will bring a lift to our being. Doctors tell us that the human body runs best on love and that it cannot flourish in hatred. God is the love that body, soul, and spirit all desperately need. The next time you are in conflict, simply bring God into the discussion and watch the hostilities diminish. Do not bring teaching about God or pet theologies, but bring the living Christ into the equation and watch Him do what understanding cannot.

The heart of Michael’s writing this day for me is to know and remember I must bring the Living Christ, not some teaching about Him…and, may God forbid, any pet theology or “wisdom” I might possess…into every equation of life.  For years I was taught to get more Bible knowledge, but not more of Him.  Today, I want just Him.

And, today I can relax and disciple more effectively no matter Who I am working with or What they are dealing with…having these two things that come from having Christ:

1. It is impossible for me to bring love into ANY situation without bringing in God, its source.

2. I can bring the Living Christ, Who lives in me and all that He is in me, into ALL situations.

And don’t we know, and say, that all anyone needs is God?  Why do we then give them a thought about Him, a truth about Him, a theology about Him…instead of Him?

A friend named Mark and I were talking with one of Mark’s acquaintances this past Sunday morning.  This person was choked up with worries and fears about an upcoming situation.  But once we talked about them knowing they were “in Christ” and “Christ was in them,” and all that He IS was going to be theirs as they entered the real testing of their faith…they began to glow and walk in His peace, and to say: “I’m not going to say I have God, and then live like I don’t.”  Well, amen.