By Paul Alberts
We probably all like to hear “I love you,” especially by someone who we know really means it. In many relationships, though love is present, these particular words are not expressed often enough. Interestingly, some of our favorite Bible verses are the ones that speak of God’s love by using that very word. John 3:16, quite possibly the most known verse in the world, is one example: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV). Maybe there is someone in your life whom you haven’t told you love for quite a while. It could be your spouse, your child, your brother or sister, your parent – or what about the Lord Jesus? Take a moment and tell these special ones that you love them.
The way of the world tells us that nothing anyone does matters as long as there is love: “It is all right to __________ , because of love.” We should never follow what the world tells us for it is under the power of Satan, who works in many ways against God (Eph. 2:2-3). The Bible tells us that love and doing things rightly go hand in hand. Romans 13:8-10 says, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” It is never right to sin, and using the justification that it is “all right because of love” is entirely wrong! May we be careful to obey God in all that we do, even in the relationships with those we love.
Love is a powerful and persuasive influence. God has only ever used it in a right way – to draw hearts to Himself (Jer. 31:3). How have you responded to His love? The hymn writer, Isaac Watts (1674-1748), wrote, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
There are many wonderful examples of love shown in Scripture. The greatest of course is found in God, who is love (1 Jn. 4:8,16). We hope you will enjoy His lessons for you in this edition.