The Love of God
Recently the Holy Spirit began to whisper a single sentence in my ear. He kept saying, “The Love of God”. I wondered why He was saying this so I decided to search the scriptures to find what He wanted me to understand. I’m glad He did. What I am about to share with you will hopefully make you jump up and down in gladness…
In our culture we often use the love word often for things that have no real value. “I love my burger!” We love all the things that bring us happiness, but most of the time they are so short lived. Worse, we often look for the things that bring us happiness only to find them broken down later.
You might find it interesting to know that the term “Love of God” is not found in the Old Testament. It is reserved for the New Testament alone. Throughout the Old, there are many verses that use both the words Love and God, but not the whole “Love of God” string. The first mention of it is found in the book of John.
John 5:42 (NKJV)
42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.
Woah! That was Jesus speaking and He was directing His comment to the Jews of the day. You might wonder why Jesus would tell His chosen people that they didn’t have the Love of God in them. Jesus surely knew what He was talking about but His statement stung them to their core. They had done all they knew to do before God with the law over their heads. Sacrifices, honoring certains days each year, journeys to the temple and more. Now they have this Jew and Rabbi standing in their midst and He is making a heart wrenching statement. “You do not have the Love of God in you!”
