Series: "Fruits of the Spirit"

A few years ago, my daughter Amanda and I were asked to write some articles for "The Real Bible".

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Complete-New-Testament-Biblezines/dp/0718010663/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285351420&sr=8-1

Here is one of those articles:

Love

“You would if you really loved me.” a girl’s boyfriend whispers in her ear.  An enraged teenager screams at her mother, “You don’t really love me!” A pastor is ending a sermon,  “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”  But, what is love?  Yes, God is love, but what is a good definition for love?  If love is what the world says, then it is often synonymous with sex, or a worldly phrase that says, “You owe me.” 

If we take a deep look at what God’s love is, we realize that God’s love is not only different than the world’s love, but it is different than what we usually think it is. A Biblical definition of God’s love says that love is an offer to give from a secure heart.  Insecurity minimizes your ability to receive God’s love and God’s love minimizes your ability to be insecure.

God’s love is a gift. No gift can be demanded or manipulated. It may be asked for and granted, but never manipulated or demanded.  The world however, feeds off insecurity by manipulating love by saying, “I’m hurting so you need to give to me.”  If you give in to this manipulation, you will walk in insecurity; you will not have God’s love to pour out on anyone else. 

A gift is offered and not forced. 1 John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He sent his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”  The ultimate gift was offered.  God gave us the option to accept or reject it. God’s love says that you don’t have to “fix” anyone.  To know God’s love is to live in the security that God unconditionally thinks that you are wonderful!