THE LOVE OF GOD

The unconditional love of God unites Christ-followers while also manifesting His characteristics through the fruit of the Spirit so believers and unbelievers alike can witness it.  In his sermon this past Sunday, Pastor Harry described it as agape love.  

John Ortberg captures the different kinds of love in his book, Love Beyond Reason.  He says that there are basically two kinds of love, the love that seeks value in its object and the love that creates value. He talks about how, as a child, his sister Barbie was given a rag doll by their aunt.  Barbie named the doll Pandy and loved her with a love that was too strong for Pandy’s own good. She slept with Pandy, ate with Pandy and even bathed with Pandy when she could get away with it.  Long story short is that Barbie loved Pandy her whole life.  After decades, Barbie still loved Pandy even though Pandy had become worn and ragged over that time.  When Pandy was young and pretty, Barbie loved her.  When Pandy was old and ragged, Barbie still loved her.  She did not simply love Pandy because Pandy was beautiful, she loved her with a kind of love that made Pandy beautiful. 

There are a couple of truths that can be discerned from this metaphor.  One is that we are all rag dolls.  The second truth is that we are God’s rag dolls.  God knows all about our raggedness but loves us anyway.  Even when the nails were driven into His hands and feet, He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)  He loved us enough to give His Son on the cross.  Just like light eliminates darkness, unconditional love eliminates selfishness.  When selfishness is eliminated, we are free to give priceless gifts to the ones we love.  We enjoy life more and so will they.  A family grown in this environment can weather any storm and overcome any hurdle.  This also holds true for a body of believers, like the ones united in God’s unconditional love at Mosaic.