When man loses sight of the love of a personal God, the kingdom of God becomes merely the kingdom of good.
Love is the dominant characteristic of all God's personal dealings with God's creatures.
In the physical universe we may see the divine beauty, in the intellectual world we may discern eternal truth, but the goodness of God is found only in the spiritual world of personal religious experience.
Man might fear a great God, but he trusts and loves only a good God.
Happiness ensues from the recognition of truth because it can be acted out; it can be lived.
When we consider Love we can catagorize it into three types or Groups, actually four in this Age of Grace. This is not exhaustive but some seed thoughts.
1) God's Love expressed toward mankind:
a) God's Love expressed toward the unbeliever
b) God's Love expressed toward the Church
1) God's love expressed toward the carnal believer 1Co 3:3
2) God's love expressed toward the spiritual believer 2 Pet 3:16
2) The Church Age believer's Love towards God
3) The Believer's impersonal love toward all mankind
There is also God's personal love toward the nation of Isreal which is on hold until "the times of the Gentiles" is complete.
I almost forgot the most important Love of all:
The Father's Love for The Son and The Son's Love for the Father!
I think there is only two kinds, human and Gods love. I don't believe God loves any type of person any better, because we are all God's sinning little children in God's eyes. I also don't believe any sin is any better or worse than any other. It's all sin in Gods eyes. You could keep going on forever describing love the way you did. There's mans love for his beer, dog, and truck too. See what I'm saying? There is only human and holy love, in my opinion. One is without judgement or conditions, and never fails, and the other has those flaws included, and fails most of the time.
the greeks have three words - philos(love based on feelings, brotherly love), eros(sexual love), and agape(love as defined in 1corinth 13). agape is a way of being. it is the way god is. does god experience the other two kinds of love? since both are flesh-based and god is a spirit, i doubt it. they dont seem to carry much weight spiritually.
"One is without judgement or conditions, and never fails, and the other has those flaws included, and fails most of the time."
Love in and of itself does not fail us; that's saying the gun shot the person--the person shot the person using the gun. The gun itself didn't do it, the human used it to accomplish that goal. I believe love conqueres all.
"I think there is only two kinds, human and Gods love."
To me there is one kind of love, and that's just "love". God's love for us, our love for our children, our favorite pair of shoes, our best friend, and the list is infinite!lol Animals show love and affection as well; anyone who has or who ever had a dog knows how protective they can be of their master, biting anyone who seems a threat to him/her. You can see the love that animals demonstrate for their young when they will fight another wild beast to protect their young. They also grieve and cry when they lose a child, like humans do.
Love comes in many forms. But it is love just the same. The ultimate demonstration of love is from/of God. He gave His only begotten Son to pay the penalty for our sins! lol
I agree if you're using this definition for love. Most human love is conditional, and really isn't love. Holy love is unconditional and really is the only love there is.
There is unconditional love displayed by humans, but it is few and far between. There are a lot of parents that dis-own their children. There are many divorces. There are many instances of what was thought to be love but really wasn't. I think even if you came home and your dog had ripped up all your furniture, carpet, curtains, and pooped on it, you would probably get mad and throw it outside. I could be wrong with that I know, but what about if your husband was cheating on you, or secretly murdering, or raping people behind your back? Would you still love him and want to be his wife, and live with him still? That's love, and is what God is giving us.
Temporary love isn't love in my book. That's when love is really an emotion that can fade. It's ok to be dissapointed like God is with us I'm sure, but I don't believe God is mad at us, or wants to dis-own us.
I believe that God didn't require his son die for God to still love us either. That's not love eihter. That's conditional love, and just an emotion too. Love conquers all, like you said. So what does all leave out? When someone sins against you? I would bet you can forgive at least most sins commited against you too, and still love the person that commited the sin.
I've seen parents forgive the person that murdered their child, and had the murderer live with them after getting out of prison. I've seen people that were hit by robbers with their get away car, and they forgive the robbers who ran over them and left them for dead. I've seen daughters that were raped by their dad for years forgive him. Now are you telling me God can't even do things we can? I believe God can, easily does, and always will do things we can do and greater. So much greater our little pea brains can't understand it, unless we become God like too, and then it will be out of our reach to be like God. If "The ultimate demonstration of love is from/of God." like you said, then God wouldn't require his son to die for someone else's sins. God wouldn't take an innocent life to make up for a sinful one. That's like killing your dog because someone crashed into your car. This whole idea is nothing more than church teaching, and totally unbelivable in my opinion.
Hey by the way, you might like to read The Little Scroll. It appears most of the book isn't even religious at first glance. The first several chapters explain the reasoning behind the scroll section at the end I assume. In the first chapter it talks about what we percieve to be real. This would help you understand what you observe in your dogs behavior. Pretty darn interesting!
You take care AJ!
"Temporary love isn't love in my book. That's when love is really an emotion that can fade."
People fall in and out of love; it doesn't mean that the love they felt for each other was not REAL! lol Sometimes friends grow apart, but what they had when they were friends was genuine love and compatibility for each other. That's real love, usually unconditional. Even if it's "temporary love" it was real when it was being experienced. Humans are imperfect by nature, so we will have conditional love on occasion.
"If "The ultimate demonstration of love is from/of God." like you said, then God wouldn't require his son to die for someone else's sins."
That's the WHOLE POINT! God LOVES us so much that He gave His Son for the remission of our sins! lol
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
"God wouldn't take an innocent life to make up for a sinful one."
He obviously would and He did. He did it for us.
John 2:19-21
Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and thou wilt raise it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple of his body.
I can't understand how someone can fall out of love if love conquers all. Can you explain that? By the way, by your own statements there is temporary and permanent love.
"God LOVES us so much that He gave His Son for the remission of our sins!"
So it's ok to kill innocent people on death row for the remission of the original killers sins?
"He obviously would and He did. He did it for us.
John 2:19-21
Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and thou wilt raise it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple of his body."
How does Jesus talking about being able to raise from the dead in three days prove God requires an innocent person dying for all sin ever commited on Earth? What is so obvious I'm missing that proves God would and did this?
Take Care AJ!
Eros means romantic love in which the word erotic come from. It's
the chemical reaction that happens between two people. It's the spark
that happens to people. It's the blushing of the face. It's
infatuation between people. It's puppy love.
It's the most common type of love that we can associate. When you
see a couple holding hands or kissing and people say, "Yes, they are in
love." This type of love is called Eros.
Most relationships are based on this type of love.
The Greeks also has a second definition of love, and that is Philia
in which the word the philanthropy come from. Philia means brotherly
love. We all know city of Philadelphia as the city of brotherly love.
Philia does not contain romantic love. Philia is the love you and I
express to our father, mother, brother, sister, or a friend. People
say, "I love my brother to death". Well, this type of love is philia love.
It does not contain, Eros type of love.
The third definition of love is called Agape. Agape means
unconditional love for someone. It means loving someone without
expecting love in return. Parents can relate to this, especially a
mother. Perhaps this may be a difficult concept in today's selfish
society because this type of love requires sacrifice and selflessness.
One common mistake that people make is equating true love with EROS
love only. I submit to you that TRUE love requires all three types
of LOVE. Most relationships today are based on one type of love. If
your relationship does not contain these three types of love, you may
have the recipe for disaster.
Trouble looms ahead when the first few years are past, add a kid or
two, and when the going get tough. When EROS love loses a little bit
of its flavor, most people bail out of relationships. It's equally
important that individuals apply all three types of love in their
relationships and marriages.
EROS love that is key to every relationship, there is the philia love
that's equally important, and of course, agape love that binds all
three. It's important that we apply all three types of love in
finding true love. Most marriages and relationships are based on
EROS love only.
Love is patient and is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast
itself, is not arrogant; does not behave rudely, is not selfish, is
not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but
rejoices in truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, endures all things. Love never fails. That is a quote from I
Corinthians: 13 of the Bible.
So I hope you find your quest for true love. It may be something
that you already have. In Forrest Gump, the movie, Forrest expresses this
in the famous line, "Jenny, I may be stupid, but I know what love
is." So, I hope my search and your search is over in finding the meaning
of true love.
I would like to leave you with my recipe for true love.
Heat EROS in the oven at 350 degrees,
Add a dash of Phila, Stuff it with Agape love.
Roast it for a lifetime. Serve it hot.
If you are a Christian, you have probably heard this story many times. If you are not a Christian, you have probably at least heard about this story, or references to the "prodigal son." In either case, take a couple minutes to read the story from the perspective of the times in which it was written. Even if you apply the story to people in modern society, it demonstrates the extraordinary love and forgiveness God has for us.
Lesson 1: rebel without a cause
The "He" in the first verse is Jesus, as He relates the parable of a father and two sons. The father represent God, our Father. The two sons represent two reactions that people have to God and His love. The younger son is the prodigal, who represents the non-believer, while the older son represents the believer who doesn't really realize what God has done for Him. There is a lesson here for all of us.
And He said, "A certain man had two sons; (Luke 15:11)
According to Jewish custom at the time, a father's wealth would not be divided until he had died. When the younger son came to his father and demanded his share of the estate, he was saying, in essence, "Father, you are dead to me. I don't want to ever see you again." The normal reaction at the time (and probably still true) would be to kick out the son without any part of the inheritance. However, God, in His love, allows His children the free will to make bad choices.
and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' And he divided his wealth between them. (Luke 15:12)
The younger son showed total disregard for his father's lifestyle, so much so that he had to go outside of Israel to find the kind of sensuous, sinful living that he wanted to experience. He had soon spent everything and was confronted with a famine.
"And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. (Luke 15:13) "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. (Luke 15:14)
The younger son seized upon a common custom of the time that required hospitality from the wealthy to strangers. However, the wealthy man, realizing the younger son was a Jew, thought he could get rid of the young man by requiring him to feed pigs. Of course, pigs are unclean animals to Jews (both then and now), so that no respectful Jew would ever accept such a job. However, in his desperation, the younger son accepted the job.
"And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. (Luke 15:15) "And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. (Luke 15:16)
The younger son soon realized that even his father's hired men had more food than he. So he made a plan to go to his father, repent of what he had done, and sign on as a hired hand, since he was certain that he could not be accepted. back again as a son, because of all the evil things he had done.
"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! (Luke 15:17) 'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; (Luke 15:18) I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."' (Luke 15:19)
So the younger son walked back to his father. However, when he was still far away, his father saw him. It wasn't by chance that this occurred. The father had been waiting and praying for his son every day since he had left, from a place where he might see him approaching. The events that followed are much more extraordinary than they might seem to us today, and require a brief explanation of the way things were at the time. In the first century A.D. estates were organized in a circle, so that several estates would have a common entrance. As such, all of the father's neighbors would have seen the younger son leave with a large portion of his father's wealth. This, in itself, would be humiliating. However, when the son returned, he would, likewise, pass by the other estates on his way to his father's estate. His father would experience scorn from his neighbors by running to meet his son. In addition, since men wore robes, he would have to lift his robe up and hold it up while he ran - something no respectful Jewish father would ever do. The son began his plan of repenting of what he had done, and to request to sign on as a hired hand. But, he didn't even get to the second part of his plan. The father immediately accepted him back as his son, not even mentioning his parting insult of saying he was dead, and squandering of his estate. The story illustrates that God is ecstatic whenever a sinner repents and turns to Him. Even if you once hated God, rejected His laws, and squandered all the blessings He had given you, He wants to hug you and accept you as a son or daughter, if you repent and turn to Him. He will forgive all your sins and shower you with His greatest blessings. If you have never had a relationship with God, go for the hugs! - accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
"And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. (Luke 15:20) "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (Luke 15:21) "But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; (Luke 15:22) and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (Luke 15:23) for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' And they began to be merry. (Luke 15:24)
Lesson 2: the ungrateful believer
Okay Christian, it's your turn! You have been a believer for years, and have diligently attempted to follow the Lord's leading. In many instances, you have had to pass up opportunities for gain because they would compromise your Christian virtues. So here comes Mr. New Christian, who receives help from the church, a good job through a Christian brother, and is launched into a successful Christian ministry - while you struggle just to make ends meet.
"Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. (Luke 15:25) "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things might be. (Luke 15:26) "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' (Luke 15:27)
You are bitter because this upstart has been an enemy of God for years. In the past, he had used his talents for sordid gain, lived a sinful lifestyle for years, while you have been a Christian since you can remember, and done none of those things. Why is God blessing him more abundantly than you (so you think)? The one who has lived both lives realizes much more acutely the difference between the two lifestyles. He realizes how much God has forgiven him for his rebellion, and knows how to minister to those who are still in rebellion to God. However, God has also forgiven all of your sins, as he has the sins of the prodigal son. In addition, you have received God's blessings for your entire life, in contrast to the person who has been a slave of sin for most of his life. Praise Him that He selected you for His kingdom while you were still young!
"But he became angry, and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began entreating him. (Luke 15:28) "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a kid, that I might be merry with my friends; (Luke 15:29) but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.' (Luke 15:30) "And he said to him, 'My child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. (Luke 15:31) 'But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'" (Luke 15:32)
Okay, everybody. Here's the final exam. Which brother should receive the greatest reward in heaven?
The younger brother, who left his father never wanting to see him again, but later returned.
The older brother, who had stayed with his father the entire time.
Neither. They should both receive the same reward.
And the answer is...
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
The younger brother who left his father never wanting to see him again, but later returned.
God judges the heart and forgives all sin for those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, the older son was bitter and judgmental. Here is the basis for my answer:
And He [Jesus] also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)
Many non-Christians say that God is not fair. Someone who lives a "good" life, but rejects Jesus will be resigned to spend eternity in Hell, whereas someone who commits evil deeds, but accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior immediately before execution for murder will go to heaven. It is true that God is not fair. If God were fair, both sons would go to Hell. Even the "good" person has committed hundreds of sins against God over his lifetime. Those who call for fairness will get the fairness of God's justice. As for me, I prefer God's mercy over God's justice. It is through God's outrageous love and mercy toward those who humble themselves that we can become sons and daughters of God. Glory be to His Name!
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