The Concept of God
To know God is to know Love, for God is Love. Love is his attribute.
The Greek word for God’s love is Agape or supernatural love. Agape
is unconditional (it loves no matter what), one sided (doesn’t have to
be returned), it’s freeing (it doesn’t expect anything in return, so I
am free to be me) and it’s other centered (it is concerned for others’
interest before its own). This kind of Love totally gives and is totally
committed.
Agape has two aspects:
*It is longsuffering and merciful: The LORD is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. Psalm
103:8
*It is disciplinary: And ye have forgotten the
exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. Heb 12:5-6
We develop a wrong concept of God when we see Him only in one of the
two aspects. We either see Him as merciful and gracious at all times or
as disciplinary and severe. Both extremes will distort the Image of God;
consequently sooner or later we get offended at Him and loose the
security that we are to have in His Love.
The Bible exhorts us to know God in all of His attributes:
But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows
Me, that I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the
earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD. Jer 9:24 (NKJ) (Emphasis
added).
Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth
go before Your face. Psalm 89:14 (NKJ) (Emphasis added).
Knowing what Love is like is not enough, we need also to be secure in
His Love if we want to follow Him in obedience. We can only obey those
we trust and we are able to trust only those who love us. Years ago we
often sang the following little chorus in our Church: “Trust and obey,
for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and
obey”.
Satan’s job from the beginning has been the one of distorting the
image of God, to make us doubt His love toward us, so that we disobey
Him, and eventually rebel just like he did.
Isn’t that what happened in the Garden of Eden? He told Eve: “Has
God really said?” Why did he begin his conversation with a question?
He intended to put a doubt in Eve’s heart: “God is harsh, mean…He wants
to take away your freedom…that’s why He doesn’t want you to eat of the
tree…”
Did Adam and Eve lack anything? No, but that was not what the
insinuation of the devil suggested; so they fell in his trap.
Lest we too become victim of the devil’s devices, let us be diligent
in pursing a personal knowledge of God and a true understanding of His
love.
There is a story in the Bible where many characteristic of the love
of God can be traced. It is the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke
15:11-24. This is the account of a father who had two sons.
The younger one came to him one day and asked for his portion of the
inheritance. “Give me what is mine,” he said. He did not
hesitate to ask for everything that was coming to him and the father
gave it all. (Verse 12). He didn’t say, “son I did not write my
testament yet, I need my money to live, when I die you can have it”.
No, he kept nothing back, he gave generously, He gave it all.
God gave everything to us in Christ. We are heir and joint heirs with
Jesus Christ. HIS LOVE IS TOTAL.
The father in the parable didn’t ask,” what are you going to do with
all this money? Nor did he expect anything in return. Didn’t he know
what his son was like? (Verse 13). Shouldn’t he have put some condition
before releasing his wealth to him? No, he gave freely, no strings
attached.
GOD’S LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL.
The father waited patiently for the wayward son to learn his lessons
and come back to him. When he finally returned, he was a mess. “…But
when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had
compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Luke 15:20
The father rushed toward his son and didn’t ask, “Where have you
been? Go take a shower…” he just hugged him and kissed him. God has
waited for us for years and when we came to him, our sins were an
abomination to him, we were filthy and repulsive…yet, he hugged us, He
took us in His arms and comforted us. GOD’S LOVE IS PATIENT.
GOD’S LOVE IS COMPASSIONATE.
Next, the father in the parable begins a work of restoration for the
son that was lost.
"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 'And
bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'
And they began to be merry. Luke 15:22-24 (NKJ)
The same work of restoration awaits every person who repents and
trusts the love of God.
The Lord clothes us with the white robe of HIS righteousness and He
puts His signet ring on our finger: the symbol of His authority and the
token of His covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus. (God made a
covenant with Abraham and with Jacob and He never changed it) Next, He
puts sandals on our feet. (Slaves did not wear shoes in those days).
Thus the Father says: “ you are no longer my slave, you are my son, you
are my daughter…you are a prince, I have restored you to the dignity of
sons and daughters of the King”. GOD’S LOVE IS ACTIVE. GOD’S
LOVE IS RESTORING.
If you have received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have
personally experienced entirely or in part, the kind of love we have
described from the pages of the Bible. You also know that it doesn’t
stop here. In order to grow in the knowledge of God we must continually
experience His Love in our life. To really know God is to experience
Him in our personal circumstances.
He will manifest His love in ways that are very peculiar to our
personality, needs and situations.
We cannot box Him. He will communicate His love through happenings,
through other Christians, and in our daily reading of the Word. I
suggest keeping a journal. I have been doing that for years. In it, I
have recorded personal words, answers to prayer and insights. They have
been a strong foundation for my Christian walk and for an ever-growing
understanding of His character and His ways.
Do you know by experience that God loves YOU?
“…For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he
would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may
dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in
love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the
love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all the fullness of God”. Eph 3:14-4:6
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