Articles & Devotionals
God is Love
There is a song that we sing in worship often that begins with the first verse sung by the sopranos only that invokes the feeling of heavenly voices rising to the throne of God. Verse by verse other parts are introduced until the entire congregation is singing together in a chorus of voices that transports our hearts and minds to scenes of worship in the presence of God.
The song is a song of admonition for brethren to Love One Another as the Greatest Commandment and the reason to heed the admonition is because God is love. We are His workmanship created for Good Works (Ephesians 2:10), and it is to that end that we should encourage, admonish, support, and display a love for one another that cannot be rivaled.
The song continually encourages us about the nature of our God, repeating over and over that “God is Love, God is Love, God is Love. What draws you to like someone? What are the attributes have people that you love displayed that causes you to be affectionately drawn to them? Peter states that initially out of obedience to the truth that we should have an “unfeigned” love that is also “fervent” (I Peter 1:22). The word “unfeigned” conveys the idea of genuine, authentic, heartfelt or wholeheartedly. Our love for one another can be categorized as intense, deep-seated, and a wholehearted desire for the wellbeing of each other. I believe that just as we are drawn to Christ in that we see His compassion for man and ultimately His love for us in His sacrifice on the cross, we are drawn to the faith of one another.
When we hear the prayer of one of our leaders at the close of worship and listen as the words spill from his trembling lips and the tears in his eyes because his heart has been moved by the unified sounds of the church in praise to our God. We love one another because we listen to the impassioned words of the one speaking from the pulpit and we know we are home when he says “Good Morning church!”. We are drawn to the sister who is on the prowl for visitors and not allowing any to pass through the doors to the parking lot without being greeted and welcomed. We love one another because God is love and we get to see our God when we see the faith of one another (John 14:9), just as Christ showed the disciples the Father.
The last verse begins with only the sopranos singing “Love one another, for love is of God” and our hearts and minds are unified in one purpose. The song concludes and the auditorium rings out with proclamations of heart felt AMENS and one Yes Lord! The words reverb in our minds that God is love, God is love,
GOD
IS
LOVE!
