Post by forgiven on Jan 31, 2005 5:34:05 GMT -5
Understanding God's Love and Justice
1 John 4:7-10
The Bible says that God's love is unconditional and that His character is just.
For Christ-followers, it is vital to understand both of these attributes of God
and to see how perfectly they mesh together. Truly knowing God in His fullness
leads to stronger, deeper faith.
Whom does God love? He loves the whole world-there are no exceptions. (John
3:16) The Bible does not say He loves only the deserving or the good; instead,
it tells us that He offered us salvation while we were His enemies. (Colossians
1:21-22) Much more than simply an emotion, God's love is an unwavering
commitment to what is in our best interest, and it is given unreservedly.
We can be sure God's love is unrestricted because we were its object before our
birth and even before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) Nor is His
love limited by anything within us, because He committed to loving us before we
were formed. By observing how He cares for the world every day, we have further
evidence of His unconditional love (Matthew 5:45b) and our tremendous value in
His eyes. (Matthew 6:26) The highest expression of His perfect love is found at
the Cross of Jesus Christ. Our loving Father sacrificed His precious Son for you
and me, the utterly undeserving.
Before we can reconcile God's love with His judgment, we must first grasp this
truth: God loves us unconditionally. His decision to love us has nothing to do
with us and everything to do with Him. Demonstrate your gratefulness today by
obeying God and showing love to others.
Charles Stanley
1 John 4:7-10
The Bible says that God's love is unconditional and that His character is just.
For Christ-followers, it is vital to understand both of these attributes of God
and to see how perfectly they mesh together. Truly knowing God in His fullness
leads to stronger, deeper faith.
Whom does God love? He loves the whole world-there are no exceptions. (John
3:16) The Bible does not say He loves only the deserving or the good; instead,
it tells us that He offered us salvation while we were His enemies. (Colossians
1:21-22) Much more than simply an emotion, God's love is an unwavering
commitment to what is in our best interest, and it is given unreservedly.
We can be sure God's love is unrestricted because we were its object before our
birth and even before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) Nor is His
love limited by anything within us, because He committed to loving us before we
were formed. By observing how He cares for the world every day, we have further
evidence of His unconditional love (Matthew 5:45b) and our tremendous value in
His eyes. (Matthew 6:26) The highest expression of His perfect love is found at
the Cross of Jesus Christ. Our loving Father sacrificed His precious Son for you
and me, the utterly undeserving.
Before we can reconcile God's love with His judgment, we must first grasp this
truth: God loves us unconditionally. His decision to love us has nothing to do
with us and everything to do with Him. Demonstrate your gratefulness today by
obeying God and showing love to others.
Charles Stanley