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Love is a subject that cannot be completely covered in the short space of this study. Its references are many and they cover pages in
an exhaustive concordance. In an entire lifetime, we could not fully comprehend this grand and most important subject. Nevertheless this
study is devoted to the subject of love and to the pursuit of a greater understanding of it. In this study we shall consider three forms of
love: (1) love of God, (2) love for God, and (3) love for others.
We must first consider the love of God, for it is the highest and purest love that has ever been known or experienced by mortals in
this world. It is the foundation of all love and the example by which all other love is to be measured. All the great doctrines of God are
viewed upon the screen of love. God made choice of Israel as His special nation and blessed it above all other nations, favoring the
Israelites as He did no others. To what can we attribute those favors and blessings of God? The Bible declares that God was motivated
by love when he said" ...the Lord loved you ..." (Deut. 7:8). Even so, God's love caused Him to make choice of a people among the Gentiles
(Eph. 1:4). Many cannot understand why God loved some and not others, but my difficulty is in understanding why God loved any of
us. Yet the truth remains that He did. In fact, He loved us so much that His love will last forever. He said, "...Yea I have loved thee with
an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee" Jer. 31:3). This marvelous promise is to the objects of divine love
both in the past and present, for neither God nor His love ever changes (Mal. 3:6). He said, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because
He laid down his life for us..." (1 John 3: 16). In perceiving His love, we clearly see that love is most beautifully expressed by action.
We should also understand that love in action is love that gives. John wrote of this giving kind of love, saying, "For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son ..." John 3: 16). Love was manifested not only by the first person of the Godhead, the Father,
but also by the Son. God the Father sent His Son (l John 4:10), but Jesus the Son loved us enough to come and to die for our sins. Jesus
said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13).The love of Jesus caused Him to take
our place on the crucifixion cross and He died for each one of us personally. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). God's love is great enough to reach down to sinners. Paul said, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in
I that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The knowledge of such enormous love should be a constant source of joy
and blessing to us. These words of the Apostle John should always echo in our minds: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God ..." (l John 3: 1).
Following the love of God for man, it is now appropriate to study man's love for God. John said, "We love him, because he first loved
us" (l John 4: 19). The source of our love for God originates from His work of grace in us. Because God loved us and saved us by His
grace, sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we have become new creatures that love God. Therefore it is comely for the objects
of God's love to declare their love for God. As we both declare and manifest our love for God, His love is thereby reciprocated.
When the Ten Commandments were reduced to two, Jesus commanded us to love God and one another. There were originally four
commandments which dealt with our duty toward God. They required us to have no other gods, not to worship idols, not to take God's
name in vain, nor violate God's holy day of worship. Jesus reduced them to this simple statement of love: "...Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Mt. 22:37).
You see, when we love God completely, we will not want to break His laws or do those things that dishonor and displease Him. Since
God's love for us was seen by His work of salvation, so our love for God can be seen by the way we live and what we do. Jesus said, "If
you love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15). Also He said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words ... He that loveth me not
keepeth not my sayings..." John 14:23,24). We are daily challenged to prove our love for Jesus and God the Father. This we do by obeying
Their words of commandment; thereby the measure of our love is revealed. Our love is not perfect, so it must be measured as it is made
manifest. The more we love Him, the more we will obey Him. Peter, who denied the Lord Jesus three times, made this discovery as he
listened to the searching words of the Savior. "...Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith
unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs" John 21:15). We should all recognize that it
is not enough to say we love someone; love needs to be proven, regardless of whether it is the love of our companions, or even our
friends. If we say we love God, we must also prove it. Paul said, "I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of
others, and to prove the sincerity of your love" (2 Cor.8:8). Jesus loves us and, even though we have not seen Him (l Peter 1:8), we have
seen and felt His love; therefore, the love we have for him can and must be seen. Let us manifest it daily by a devoted heart and a life
dedicated to His service.
In the third and last division, we need to consider the love of our fellow man. Remember that Jesus said first to love God with all our
heart, soul, and mind; then He added, "...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' (Mt. 22:39). As our love for God governs our behavior
toward Him, so our love for others will drastically affect our actions toward them. Since all four Commandments about our responsibility
to God were reduced to love, even so the six Commandments about our relation to others were also reduced to one commandment of love.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty in the application of this command is with regard to our enemies. Jesus said, "Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Mt. 5:44). All who
have endeavored to love an enemy recognize that it is a difficult task, yet a very important one. It may help if we understand that while
the commandment still holds true, there are varying degrees and different kinds of love. Our love for God is certainly different from
our love for our companion or children. The love of friends and associates may even vary drastically; therefore, it is reasonable to
assume that there will be some difference in the nature of our love for an enemy and love for a brother in Christ, but we are to love
both as our fellow men.
It seems to me that God acknowledges the existence of a very special love which ought to exist among the kindred in Christ. Jesus said,
"This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you" John 15:12). He set before us no easy task, for it requires that
we put them ahead of ourselves and love them in spite of all their faults and failures, as Jesus did when He died for us. Because of our
love for the brethren, we have the assurance that we have passed from death to life (l John 3: 14). Yet without such love, we have no assurance
at all, for John wrote, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (l John 4:20). If we love God, we love His people and ought to manifest that love in every
word and deed (l John 3: 18). The deeds of our lives will prove how genuine our love really is. We are to love the family of God in a very
special way and it should not diminish in strength nor ever fade away. Paul said, "Let brotherly love continue" (Heb. 13: 1) and if we show
it daily, it will always continue.
In conclusion, let us share an observation God inspired Paul to make. He examined faith, hope, and love only to discover that love
is the greatest of the three (l Cor. 13: 13). Its greatness lies in the fact that without God's love, heaven would never be our home, and
without love for one another, this life would afford us little happiness. I simply cannot imagine what this world would be like without love,
but I am certain that I would not want to live in it. Let us be thankful that God not only created the world but also gave us love to share.
Endeavor to love God more completely and your neighbor more deeply. The more love you give away, the more love you will gain
in return. Paul said, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Annually
the earth reminds us of the truth of this Scripture as it yields its abundant harvest. If you expect to reap love in abundance, then you
must now begin to plant the seeds of love in the lives of others. By loving, you assure yourself of love, so love people more and love God
most; then enjoy the fruits of a blessed harvest.
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