2 Deuteronomy 4:37-39 “And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other.” Extra Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-49
Deuteronomy in particular bases the covenant relationship between Israel and God on God’s prior love. Unlike the other gods of other nations, who belong to them for natural and geographic reasons, God took the initiative and chose Israel because he loved her (Deut. 4:37; 10:15; Isaiah 43:4). This love is spontaneous, not evoked by any intrinsic worth in its object, but rather creating that worth (Deut. 7:7). Love for God with the whole personality (Deut. 6:5) is God’s demand, summoning to a relationship of personal devotion created and sustained by the work of God in the human heart (Deut. 30:6). It consists in the simple joyful experience of communion with God (Jeremiah 2:2; Psalm 18:1; 116:1), worked out in daily obedience to His commandments (Deut. 10:12, ‘to love Him, to serve the Lord your God’; Joshua 22:5, ‘to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways’. This obedience is more fundamental to the nature of love for God than any feeling. God alone will be the judge of its sincerity (Deuteronomy 13:3). Love is basically a response-we love because we are loved. 1 Corinthians 8:3 says, “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” Let me ask you a question: ‘Do you love God?”
Love is to have a reverence for God, what pleases Him and to hate what He hates. Love is to know Him, to learn His will and to please Him. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34). Jesus said, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Selwyn Hughes once said, “God desires to bring me to the place where I can trust His love, even though I cannot comprehend His purposes.” This is so true. C.H.Spurgeon, a great Baptist preacher, once said, “You do not love the Lord at all, unless you love the souls of others” Love is ordained by God to be the normal, ideal human relationship, and as such is given the sanction of the divine law (Leviticus 19:18). We are commanded to have love for fellow Christians, love for non-believers.
The love of God is the deepest possible expression of God’s character. God’s love is eternal, it is a covenantal love, it is lavish, and it is holy and just. God’s love is always directed to man. God’s love is deeper than that of a mother. God’s love is being rooted firmly in the personal character of God Himself. May God help us to understand His love for us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, plant Your perfect love in our human hearts, so that we may love like You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
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