Penetrating LIGHT

LONG LASTING LOVE 1 John 3:1-18 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves,just as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3) John in his writings speaks often of light and love. Like the love spoke of in (1 John 3:1-3, 11-18; 4:7-12, John 3:16,15:9-13) and light (1 John 1:5-7; 2:8-11, John 1:9-13; 8:12; 9:5), John brings them accross in such a way that we cannot help but see them both, being presented in the Savior, Jesus Christ. John in his gospel tells of the incarnation of Jesus—the Son of God, who came as a baby born in the flesh (1 John 1:1-4; (John 1:1-5). As I read Johns account of Christs earthly journey, one cannot help but see Jesus great love for His fellow man and the fact that He wants to bring light into the world. As we draw near to our Saviour this love and light that He has brought to us, will continue rising to the top and overflowing John seeks to teach that to us, as He teaches as to who Christ is and what He came to bring. John spells out very clearly that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to serve the world and to bring light into the darkness that developed through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Jesus brought His love and His light to heal the brokenhearted with a healing light and a love that transends any other type of love the world may try and give. It is only the love and light of Jesus that can break through the darkness. As we experience this perfect love and light and the healing it brings into ones life, He helps us extend it to others. As I have looked at the word LOVE, it is so wide spread, so many meanings that takes it so deep into our lives, but it is the perfect love of Christ that has taken it the deepest, all the way down into the depths of my very soul. In order to explain love in its purest form one must know God, because God is love. Love is everything all wrapped up and given to all of those who will possess it and extend it. Even before you are born, love is formed along with your being, you are created in the image of God, and God is love. Love can be strong or it can be weak, depends on how the fire is stoked. Your love, when you recieve it,and put it into practice can take shape in your life, it is what makes or breaks you. Love it what makes us tick. They tell us, without love and the human touch of lover, one dies. Those who have studied this subject say that a baby deprived of love, affection, and consistent human touch can literally die. They simply do not thrive, they have emotional problems and thier senses are deprived of what they were created to have. Without real love, their physical, neurological, and emotional development is disrupted, even though they have been fed properly. That say, even if babies were given basic sustenance and medical care, but if they were severely deprived of human interaction, touching, and affection it lead to a profound physical decline and eventually death. So from that,I believe we are created for love, and the love of a mother and father in a famiily is how God intended it from the beginning. They were put in place to provide that love we so desprately need. I also believe, that begins as soon as that baby is concieved and begins to grow within the mother wonb. The lack of these essential elements can and will cause developmental deficiencies and a failure to thrive all the way through the prenancy. Therefore it is very important to take our responsibilities as parents very, very serious,if we want well rounded and well developed children. The love we extend to our children in our human state is a very small part of Gods great love for them, but it is a part that God has made necessary for human developement. First John 3 describes the “great love” God showers on us: He says that all who believe in Him become His children (v. 1), and are the benefactors of His perfect love, that He created us with at the time of creation. He showed us a perfect example of this love through sending His Son to sacrifice Himself in love for us. My friends it is the greatest gift of all, to be the recipient of the original love of God. Yes, Jesus “laid down his life for you and for me on the cross, becauuse of Gods perfect love.(v. 16). “We’re saved ‘by grace through faith’ in Christ” (Ephesians 2:8). This is God’s gracious gift to everyone who believes and lets Christ Jesus in to their lives. It is a choice, it is not forced upon us. Our response is personal and as we choose to recieve it God gives His AGAPE love to us, so we too can “lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). We’re called to put our faith into action: to love and obey Him and to spread that love to others. As we recieve the power of God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of the Godhead, God enables us to extend His great love to our family and beyond to all that are in our circle of life. Dear Jesus, out of all, my gifts you have given through your sacrifice on the cross, love is essential. Nothing can ever compare to Your love for me.There are no words, to explain that kind of love. It is beyond human expression, it has to be You. Please help extend that kind of love and help me find ways to put it into action in my day to day. I thnak oyu for that great love. In your name I pray AMEN