“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19……….
There has been NO GREATER EXPRESSION OF LOVE in the entire universe nor ever will be as when Jesus Christ, Son of God, God in the flesh, and the perfect man while He was here on earth, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect atonement, the perfect lamb of God, died on the cross to bear on Himself every single ounce of wrath God has toward every single human for every single sin ever committed along with the punishment of separation from God and judgment, condemnation, death, hell, and the lake of fire forever apart from God so all who repent and believe this Gospel message, turning from a life of wickedness to a life genuinely devoted to Christ, with the fruit of this life of devotedness as proof of sincere faith in Christ as Lord, are forgiven by God and promised a forever relationship with Him instead. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he overcame death, hell, and the lake of fire. There is simply NO GREATER EXPRESSION OF LOVE; how could there possibly be?
What are we to do with this unfathomable love? This amazing love? This awesome love? This immeasurable love? This unending love? This indescribable love? We are to receive this love, right? Yes! By receiving Christ as Lord, right? Yes! By following Christ as Lord, right? Yes! By learning to love like He does, right? Yes! But in plain and tangible, clear and simple terms, what exactly are we to do? We’re to do this. We are to be FILLED with His love by asking for and receiving the baptism of God’s Holy Spirit, and asking for and receiving ongoing fillings of His Spirit which means more and more of His love. And we are to LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS with the love He gives us, and we are to LOVE OTHERS with the love He gives us (Mt. 22:37-40). What exactly does this mean? We are to EXPRESS LOVE to the Lord and to EXPRESS LOVE to others. God’s love is to pour into us, and God’s love is to pour out of us, such that God’s love is ever pouring through us! As much as it is vitally important, and we are commanded, and it is utterly beautiful and lovely to express God’s love to others, the MOST IMPORTANT EXPRESSION OF LOVE we will ever express is this. TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS AND LIVES!
Just as God has expressed, and expresses His unfathomable love to us, we, loved by Him so immeasurably, are commanded to EXPRESS OUR LOVE TO HIM. Now we may think of this in what some would call religious terms like we are to express our love for Him in churchgoing, praise, worship, obedience, and service, along with learning to forsake sin and to do what is right in God’s eyes instead, we each also have the capacity to EXPRESS OUR LOVE TO HIM individually, personally, up close, in our hearts, with our words, in our actions, in our lifestyle, and uniquely with the gifts and ways He has blessed us as His beloved children.
For example, I have been writing since I was a little girl. For decades, I used writing for my own pleasure, for work, for money, for self and others, for the devil, for this world, etc. When I ultimately yielded my writing life to the Lord, I still thought of the writing as work. This time around, ministry work. As a tool to help others to find and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Is this important? Absolutely yes! But over time I came to find I could use the gift of writing God has given me to worship Him, to EXPRESS MY LOVE TO HIM, by offering up the writing to Him, and by proclaiming Him to the world not just for the sake of evangelism, but as an EXPRESSION OF LOVE TO HIM. God has also gifted me with my voice. He has gifted me in speaking, in preaching, in proclaiming Him verbally and helping and encouraging others to understand the Gospel message and to repent and follow Jesus, and to grow in relationship with God for those who already follow Christ. Is this only an act of evangelism as I am called as an evangelist? I believe it is also an EXPRESSION OF MY LOVE FOR GOD!
What gifts has God given you? Are you using them to EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO GOD? Please do! Let us not merely love the Lord in our hearts. Let us EXPRESS OUR LOVE TO GOD with all our hearts and with the gifts and blessings He has bestowed upon us! Please do, my friend, oh, love Him, and express to Him your love with all He has given you!