Love, Jesus

Yesterday at church Heinz, lead elder of my chuch, preached on God's love. He preached from Psalm 36. I don't know where to begin but it's like this is like a precious jewel, to be treasured. I almost feel like yesterday was just the beginning. When I went home I read from 1 John 4:7-21

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot [1] love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

From these verses I realized that we as Christians must receive God's love because His love is, essentially, manifested in Jesus. We have to know His love and we know His love through Jesus. We have to live like we are radically loved. The evidence of knowing His love is absence of fear. In verse 18 it says " There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear". 

When I lived in South-Africa in 2009 I had such tremendous fear in my life. I had a fear that would often disable me to a degree. Fear of crime, fear of people, fear of failing. I would not go home alone because I was too scared. If I was home alone, I would not leave my room till someone came home. I lived in complete fear. When I made the decision to come back to SA I thought that it would be the same again once I was back. But I have been amazed at how fear has left me. Being back in my old surroundings where I was before, I have told people "I don't know why but for some reason I am no longer scared." I have realized this last SUnday that it is the love of God that has taken root in my heart. His love has removed the fear in my heart. I cannot explain it.  

To know God, we must know His love, for God is love. It says in 1 John 3:1 " See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" He loves us so much that we are called children of God! When we know His love we will live like sons and daughters of the Most High!

I realised today again how amazing the words of this song is:

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
You are my King


What I love about the chorus is the line "Amazing love, I know its true, and its my joy to honour You." Because it says that when we have the revelation of God's love for us, it's our joy to honour Him! 

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