Volume 46 Number 9 May 2004
Someone told me recently that the more love we give and have for others, the more love we are capable of receiving. Accordingly, the more love we give to others, the more we are capable of receiving, the more again are we able to continue to give. It is as if love abounds on itself more and more. When we have love such as this we can more truly understand the nature of God toward us His creatures. Love such as this has no limits.
This principle of love is the closest we can get to God in this life. Why? For God is love as John testified in I John 4:711. Love is a gift from our Creator. A gift that can help us understand the nature of God more surely and accurately than any other gift we can receive.
Certainly without God we can perhaps have feelings for others, but these feelings cannot come close to what God can teach us. Men and women have a natural tendency to feel toward others, but this tendency, separated from what God has given, is imperfect. Consider how man's nature attempts to misuse and misunderstand this great gift when left to his own devising. Love such as this often becomes motivated by things such as selfishness and pride.
Consider how easy it is for us to love others because of what they provide for us. How many husbands "love" their wives because of what their wives provide for them whether that provision comes in the form of children, good food, or other things we value? How many wives love their husbands because their husbands provide homes, security, and other things for them? Our nature tends to love others because of what they give or provide for us. Certainly provisions are good and needed in this life, but loving another for what they provide for us is not the kind of love God has in mind. His love is not due to what we provide for Him, rather His love is motivated by what He can do for us. That is love as the Lord defines it in I John 4 and throughout the entire Bible. That is love given totally unselfishly.
This is the kind of love God has given to us. Only when we give love in this godly and holy manner can we gain a true taste of the Lord and what He wants for us-not from us. This is the kind of pure and unadulterated love Christ had for us. This is what motivated the gift of His life.
It is this type of love the Lord wishes for us to gain and give toward others. When we look and do to what is in others' best interest we then can truly gain a glimpse into the mind of the Lord and His thoughts and attitudes toward us His children. This is what God's plan is about. To help us learn to be more like Him in our thoughts and actions toward others.
It is this kind of love from others that ultimately helps us overcome so many of life's hardships and trials. When fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord show this type of love toward us, the perfect and pure love that only the Lord can give, we then experience a gift that can only come from the Lord. A perfect gift. Perhaps this ultimate God-given and God-centered love is the only form of perfection we can gain in this imperfect world.
This love has a purpose. Often due to various circumstances we can become hurt-emotionally and spiritually. This harm often leaves wounds and other damages inflicted by hardships of life that can come in various forms. We can overcome these and other problems by being the beneficiaries of such love from others. Sometimes this comes in the form of simply listening or showing support or a kind and soft touch. Sometimes it requires a hug or a word of encouragement. Sometimes it comes in a physical form such as providing food, clothing, or other earthly necessities. But whatever the form, love such as this can help us heal from our wounds and hurts. Love such as this can give us renewed life and courage to face the many challenges that stand before us.
Yes, the Lord has given us many gifts, and among these gifts are treasures beyond what our mortal hearts can imagine. We can use and be thankful for these gifts toward our salvation as they are intended. But among these gifts can be the one most precious and perfect thing we can gain while in this world. Yes, the Lord has given us faith, hope, & love, but the greatest of these is love.