1 John 4:10
"This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
Romans 5:8
"But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
Humans can give love, receive love and desire love, but that love is always imperfect and broken despite our best intentions. And the very best INCOMMUNICABLE trait of God is His perfect love. Perfect because God is love. He literally cannot be anything else! Grammar alert, double negative --> He can’t not love because He can’t not be LOVE. This means He loves you and everything He does towards you is good, just, right and true. No matter what is happening God remains love. If you hate Him, He is still love. If you are indifferent to Him, He is still love. If you love Him, He is still love. The world is a mess!, He is still love. And this perfect love of God was first made manifest when He created humankind to be His family. However, that family and fellowship was broken when Sin was introduced into the world by the actions of Adam and Eve. We all know the story; Satan [the serpent] beguiled them into eating the forbidden fruit and they were shown the exit from the Garden of Eden, breaking their perfect fellowship with God, though remaining His children. However, because God is just in not condoning sin, the fissure caused by this disobedience to His instruction could only be repaired by sacrifice and blood in payment for the sin.
2 Samuel 14:14 NLT
"All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him."
So, in steps Jesus to save and reconcile humanity back to God and restore the fellowship and family He loves to love. Now God is God, so He knows that humans have a sin nature, but He accounted for that by sending Jesus; not when we were saved but while we were still sinners did He send Jesus to take the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. God longs for His creation to become His children and He makes it perfectly simple and clear. The only way to God is through Jesus. It is a narrow gate, but a gate flung open for all that wish to enter by Jesus. In short, it is not God's desire that anyone should perish. In fact, Scripture tells us that He waits patiently so all would have the opportunity to come to know the Saving Grace of Jesus, receive forgiveness and step into fellowship with Him.
Because this loving God first loved us so freely and unceasingly, it is almost impossible not to love Him in return. Our love towards God and others is a COMMUNICABLE trait that He shares with us in finite, human amounts. He knows our love will be imperfect, incomplete and at times non-existent towards Him and others. But the encouraging thing is that the more we get to know Him the deeper our knowledge of and fellowship with Him and the more attuned our ears become to His Voice. Amidst the noisy playground of elementary school students, when I heard, “Quahana!”, I immediately knew it was my daddy coming to collect me. Had it been a stranger calling my name I would not have responded because it wasn't my daddy's voice. In fact, I probably would have run to get the Principal! As an adult I have learned and am still learning to listen, hear and distinguish Father God’s voice even bettter than the way I knew my earthly daddy’s gruff southern tinged timbre. My desire is that all would know God's Saving Grace personally for themselves.
But some may not realize that they are a sinner in need of saving. The good news is that just because Adam introduced sin into humankind, doesn't mean we need remain that way. God, the good good Father, always has a plan, even in His discipline. As any good and kind father does, he awaits the moment when His creation no longer sins by providing a solution. For example, when a dad says, "don't touch the hot stove," it's not because he is a fun spoiler, it is because he loves you and doesn't want you to get hurt; even as he keeps a first aid kit and warm hug on standby. Spoiler alert. The stove is hot!
Friends, this is no ordinary love. An ordinary love would be unresponsive to repentance, unforgiving and not forthcoming with new life and freedom from sin. But God is different. In His loving kindness His Holy Spirit convicts hearts and invites a turning from sin and a seeking of His face. That is repentance, the first step. Then is confessing with the mouth and believing in the heart that Jeus died for your sins. This triggers His forgiveness of all your sins; past, present and future --> Salvation is received --> you are made new --> reconciled back to God as His child [masterpiece] --> and have an eternity spent with Him to look forward to. A cleansed, forgiven, saved and set free precious saint of God is what you become by accepting Jesus. As God's child you then have all rights and privileges as His heir, because when God sees His human children, He sees His Son Jesus.
One day at age nine, I felt this burning urgency to accept Christ and planned my long walk up to the altar for the next Sunday. Being raised in and attending church consistently [read: all the time!], I just knew that whatever my mother had and what I saw displayed in her actions, life and on her face during her church solos --> I wanted it! Now as an adult, I know God was wooing me with His Holy Spirit and sweetly beckoning me into His family. So, with knees knocking, voice shaking and heart pounding I made the best decision of my life by accepting Jesus and getting saved and thereby the masterpiece emerged. Was my life perfect and smooth from that moment? Was this precious saint of God the epitome of a perfect child of God that never sinned, messed up or fouled out? No ma'am, no sir. Regardless, God was always patiently waiting for me to turn my face, look into His eyes and receive His loving Fatherly embrace, fellowship and walk in all my masterpiece gloriousness. Whether you are nine, nineteen, 97 or somewhere in between, I want the same Salvation for you.
Boy oh boy! Trust that when a sinner repents and accepts Christ there is a party in Heaven. And there is no party like a Holy Ghost party. Angels cheering? Trumpets blowing? Singing? Dancing? Check, check and check! When Jesus takes the wheel, it will be the best ride EVER!!! Check it out here. My dear, God is waiting.
Takeaways for you to remember:
#1. Incommunicable – Only God has and can possess these traits.
#2. Communicable – Traits shared with us in finite, human amounts.
#3. God is perfect LOVE and loves you.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry? [NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
References:
1) Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Moody Press. Chicago. 1989.
2) Erickson, Millard. Who’s Tampering with the Trinity? An Assessment of the Subordination Debate. Kregel. Grand Rapids, MI. 2009.
3) Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2003.
4) Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Intervarsity Press IVP Books. Downers Grove, IL. 1973.
5) Strong, J. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Abingdon Press. 1890.
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