Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(I like the recent threads about "_____ speaks to me..." sorry I had to steal that idea for a thread of my own. I like the way that sounds: "speaks to me" it sounds kind and gentle.)
"God is love" speaks to me.
1 John 4
12 No one has ever seen God;
if we LOVE one another,
God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
FAQ
wow. So it's all about love then? YES.
So... you mean when we LOVE, God abides in us? YES.
So... you mean that God abides in other people, not just "christians"? YES.
So... you mean that when someone shows me love, they are really showing me a little piece of God? YES.
So God wants us to love Him, not for HIS benefit... but for ours? YES.
So that we will, in our attempts to love Him, we will first have to start to get to know Him? Afterall it does say "With all of your HEART, MIND and SOUL" correct? YES. If we are to love God with our WHOLE BEING, then obviously God is giving us this command not so that we will BLINDLY love Him, but so that we will absolutely get to know His true character. It is impossible to love God with all of your HEART, ALL of your mind and ALL of your soul (your whole being) if you are afraid of Him. God knows this. That is what is the beautiful thing about the two commands. It's not for HIS benefit, it's not to "appease" Him. It's not for his "ego". (lol!) It's for OUR benefit. Because GOD IS LOVE. The more we understand God, the more our whole being WILL love Him. Do you see how smart God is??
The "love God" command isn't about some insecure Creator saying "you must love me!" and we're all cowering "yes God... yes... I love you... I love you.. eek! i love you!!! Really, I do! I do! " It's about a Creator wanting His creation to truly see Him for WHO He is. Remember there is NO fear in LOVE. God doesn't want our FEAR. God wants our love. Because HE knows the heart that fears cannot see Him for who He truly is. The heart that fears God will be unable to experience the joy and peace that God wants us to experience. It is for OUR benefit, as individuals and as a whole (ALL of creation.. why do you think the creation still groans?! Think about it!)
The command to love God is a PUSH, a starting point to get us to start to UNDERSTAND His nature. To understanding who HE is. God knows we cannot love with our whole being if there is one trace of fear. The fear will have to walk that road to destruction, the fear will have to be DEALT with and this is the perfect way. We have to walk through our FEAR of God in order to start to truly understand who HE is. His true character. God is smart. And He is trying to tell us something.
GOD IS LOVE.
And...
LOVE conquers all.
Who is more powerful than GOD?
Anyone?? Anything??
Hatred? Is it more powerful than God?
Darkness? Is it more powerful than God?
Ignorance? Is it more powerful than God?
Lots of folks don't believe in love, because there is so little of it around them. There is so little of it being shown to them.. is it any wonder that they don't believe in it?
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.
No-one has ever seen God.
When we LOVE, we make God visible to others...and it doesn't matter if you are christian, muslim, agnostic, hindu, or what. "IF we love one another, GOD ABIDES IN US." PERIOD. Labels will flutter to the ground..
We are truly here to learn.
And YES it is ALL about Love.
Because...
God is LOVE.
We're here to learn by contrast the power of LOVE.
We're here to gain a full understanding of our Creator.
We may not be able to see the forest for the trees right now, because we are in the thick of it. We are walking THROUGH this. But I think that the forest can come into view a little if we start to really get to know our Creator's true character: LOVE.
What is so beautiful and scared to me, more than anything else, is "LOVE CONQUERS ALL" because it makes me see a light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness (non-love and all that trickles down from each little bit of non-love in this world) is being OVERCOME. LOVE will CONQUER it.
I mean that is just incredible. And to think that when we LOVE, HE abides in us... and that when we LOVE... LOVE is conquering. It's an amazing picture. The more you ponder and meditate on it, I think the more you can see the forest. And not only the forest (this life here, what we are doing here), but you can see the path out of the forest, and where this is ALL leading us ALL to... ( a future where we once and for all have EXHAUSTED non-love and wrung every bit out of it. A future where God (LOVE) is ALL in ALL which means we will all be at peace with each other, and with all of creation. A future where we finally get it. Where we finally get it that GOD IS LOVE and LOVE CONQUERS ALL. We finally get it that non-love is weak, nothing and ALWAYS leads to destruction. A future where the "lion" will lie down with the "lamb". A future of PEACE. This life isn't about a "choice". This life is about us learning what we need to learn. As individuals and as a whole. For our benefit. God most certainly is good.)
It's breathtaking and overwhelming.
Jesus came to point the way to the Father.
And that is exactly what He did.
These are some of the things that I feel I have learned from Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Just some thoughts/ideas/ponderings/opinions from over here in sparrow-land.
peace.
(I like the recent threads about "_____ speaks to me..." sorry I had to steal that idea for a thread of my own. I like the way that sounds: "speaks to me" it sounds kind and gentle.)
"God is love" speaks to me.
1 John 4
12 No one has ever seen God;
if we LOVE one another,
God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
FAQ
wow. So it's all about love then? YES.
So... you mean when we LOVE, God abides in us? YES.
So... you mean that God abides in other people, not just "christians"? YES.
So... you mean that when someone shows me love, they are really showing me a little piece of God? YES.
So God wants us to love Him, not for HIS benefit... but for ours? YES.
So that we will, in our attempts to love Him, we will first have to start to get to know Him? Afterall it does say "With all of your HEART, MIND and SOUL" correct? YES. If we are to love God with our WHOLE BEING, then obviously God is giving us this command not so that we will BLINDLY love Him, but so that we will absolutely get to know His true character. It is impossible to love God with all of your HEART, ALL of your mind and ALL of your soul (your whole being) if you are afraid of Him. God knows this. That is what is the beautiful thing about the two commands. It's not for HIS benefit, it's not to "appease" Him. It's not for his "ego". (lol!) It's for OUR benefit. Because GOD IS LOVE. The more we understand God, the more our whole being WILL love Him. Do you see how smart God is??
The "love God" command isn't about some insecure Creator saying "you must love me!" and we're all cowering "yes God... yes... I love you... I love you.. eek! i love you!!! Really, I do! I do! " It's about a Creator wanting His creation to truly see Him for WHO He is. Remember there is NO fear in LOVE. God doesn't want our FEAR. God wants our love. Because HE knows the heart that fears cannot see Him for who He truly is. The heart that fears God will be unable to experience the joy and peace that God wants us to experience. It is for OUR benefit, as individuals and as a whole (ALL of creation.. why do you think the creation still groans?! Think about it!)
The command to love God is a PUSH, a starting point to get us to start to UNDERSTAND His nature. To understanding who HE is. God knows we cannot love with our whole being if there is one trace of fear. The fear will have to walk that road to destruction, the fear will have to be DEALT with and this is the perfect way. We have to walk through our FEAR of God in order to start to truly understand who HE is. His true character. God is smart. And He is trying to tell us something.
GOD IS LOVE.
And...
LOVE conquers all.
Who is more powerful than GOD?
Anyone?? Anything??
Hatred? Is it more powerful than God?
Darkness? Is it more powerful than God?
Ignorance? Is it more powerful than God?
Lots of folks don't believe in love, because there is so little of it around them. There is so little of it being shown to them.. is it any wonder that they don't believe in it?
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.
No-one has ever seen God.
When we LOVE, we make God visible to others...and it doesn't matter if you are christian, muslim, agnostic, hindu, or what. "IF we love one another, GOD ABIDES IN US." PERIOD. Labels will flutter to the ground..
We are truly here to learn.
And YES it is ALL about Love.
Because...
God is LOVE.
We're here to learn by contrast the power of LOVE.
We're here to gain a full understanding of our Creator.
We may not be able to see the forest for the trees right now, because we are in the thick of it. We are walking THROUGH this. But I think that the forest can come into view a little if we start to really get to know our Creator's true character: LOVE.
What is so beautiful and scared to me, more than anything else, is "LOVE CONQUERS ALL" because it makes me see a light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness (non-love and all that trickles down from each little bit of non-love in this world) is being OVERCOME. LOVE will CONQUER it.
I mean that is just incredible. And to think that when we LOVE, HE abides in us... and that when we LOVE... LOVE is conquering. It's an amazing picture. The more you ponder and meditate on it, I think the more you can see the forest. And not only the forest (this life here, what we are doing here), but you can see the path out of the forest, and where this is ALL leading us ALL to... ( a future where we once and for all have EXHAUSTED non-love and wrung every bit out of it. A future where God (LOVE) is ALL in ALL which means we will all be at peace with each other, and with all of creation. A future where we finally get it. Where we finally get it that GOD IS LOVE and LOVE CONQUERS ALL. We finally get it that non-love is weak, nothing and ALWAYS leads to destruction. A future where the "lion" will lie down with the "lamb". A future of PEACE. This life isn't about a "choice". This life is about us learning what we need to learn. As individuals and as a whole. For our benefit. God most certainly is good.)
It's breathtaking and overwhelming.
Jesus came to point the way to the Father.
And that is exactly what He did.
These are some of the things that I feel I have learned from Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Just some thoughts/ideas/ponderings/opinions from over here in sparrow-land.
peace.
Thank you kind inhabitant of sparrow-land. You made my day.
(I like the recent threads about "_____ speaks to me..." sorry I had to steal that idea for a thread of my own. I like the way that sounds: "speaks to me" it sounds kind and gentle.)
"God is love" speaks to me.
1 John 4
12 No one has ever seen God;
if we LOVE one another,
God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
FAQ
wow. So it's all about love then? YES.
So... you mean when we LOVE, God abides in us? YES.
So... you mean that God abides in other people, not just "christians"? YES.
So... you mean that when someone shows me love, they are really showing me a little piece of God? YES.
So God wants us to love Him, not for HIS benefit... but for ours? YES.
So that we will, in our attempts to love Him, we will first have to start to get to know Him? Afterall it does say "With all of your HEART, MIND and SOUL" correct? YES. If we are to love God with our WHOLE BEING, then obviously God is giving us this command not so that we will BLINDLY love Him, but so that we will absolutely get to know His true character. It is impossible to love God with all of your HEART, ALL of your mind and ALL of your soul (your whole being) if you are afraid of Him. God knows this. That is what is the beautiful thing about the two commands. It's not for HIS benefit, it's not to "appease" Him. It's not for his "ego". (lol!) It's for OUR benefit. Because GOD IS LOVE. The more we understand God, the more our whole being WILL love Him. Do you see how smart God is??
The "love God" command isn't about some insecure Creator saying "you must love me!" and we're all cowering "yes God... yes... I love you... I love you.. eek! i love you!!! Really, I do! I do! " It's about a Creator wanting His creation to truly see Him for WHO He is. Remember there is NO fear in LOVE. God doesn't want our FEAR. God wants our love. Because HE knows the heart that fears cannot see Him for who He truly is. The heart that fears God will be unable to experience the joy and peace that God wants us to experience. It is for OUR benefit, as individuals and as a whole (ALL of creation.. why do you think the creation still groans?! Think about it!)
The command to love God is a PUSH, a starting point to get us to start to UNDERSTAND His nature. To understanding who HE is. God knows we cannot love with our whole being if there is one trace of fear. The fear will have to walk that road to destruction, the fear will have to be DEALT with and this is the perfect way. We have to walk through our FEAR of God in order to start to truly understand who HE is. His true character. God is smart. And He is trying to tell us something.
GOD IS LOVE.
And...
LOVE conquers all.
Who is more powerful than GOD?
Anyone?? Anything??
Hatred? Is it more powerful than God?
Darkness? Is it more powerful than God?
Ignorance? Is it more powerful than God?
Lots of folks don't believe in love, because there is so little of it around them. There is so little of it being shown to them.. is it any wonder that they don't believe in it?
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.
No-one has ever seen God.
When we LOVE, we make God visible to others...and it doesn't matter if you are christian, muslim, agnostic, hindu, or what. "IF we love one another, GOD ABIDES IN US." PERIOD. Labels will flutter to the ground..
We are truly here to learn.
And YES it is ALL about Love.
Because...
God is LOVE.
We're here to learn by contrast the power of LOVE.
We're here to gain a full understanding of our Creator.
We may not be able to see the forest for the trees right now, because we are in the thick of it. We are walking THROUGH this. But I think that the forest can come into view a little if we start to really get to know our Creator's true character: LOVE.
What is so beautiful and scared to me, more than anything else, is "LOVE CONQUERS ALL" because it makes me see a light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness (non-love and all that trickles down from each little bit of non-love in this world) is being OVERCOME. LOVE will CONQUER it.
I mean that is just incredible. And to think that when we LOVE, HE abides in us... and that when we LOVE... LOVE is conquering. It's an amazing picture. The more you ponder and meditate on it, I think the more you can see the forest. And not only the forest (this life here, what we are doing here), but you can see the path out of the forest, and where this is ALL leading us ALL to... ( a future where we once and for all have EXHAUSTED non-love and wrung every bit out of it. A future where God (LOVE) is ALL in ALL which means we will all be at peace with each other, and with all of creation. A future where we finally get it. Where we finally get it that GOD IS LOVE and LOVE CONQUERS ALL. We finally get it that non-love is weak, nothing and ALWAYS leads to destruction. A future where the "lion" will lie down with the "lamb". A future of PEACE. This life isn't about a "choice". This life is about us learning what we need to learn. As individuals and as a whole. For our benefit. God most certainly is good.)
It's breathtaking and overwhelming.
Jesus came to point the way to the Father.
And that is exactly what He did.
These are some of the things that I feel I have learned from Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Just some thoughts/ideas/ponderings/opinions from over here in sparrow-land.
peace.
Hi Sparrow!
Your post here should be a sticky, not at the top of the Christianity sub-forum, but at the top of the Main Forum page!
I'm going to print this off when I get a moment, so that I can read it often. (I haven't read the responses to it yet, but I'm sure they will be very encouraging, too.)
Great observations on God's omnipotence, benevolence and power!!
Hi Sparrow!
Your post here should be a sticky, not at the top of the Christianity sub-forum, but at the top of the Main Forum page!
I'm going to print this off when I get a moment, so that I can read it often. (I haven't read the responses to it yet, but I'm sure they will be very encouraging, too.)
Great observations on God's omnipotence, benevolence and power!!
Blessings!
Brian
Blessings to you dear Sparrow, that is an awesome post and I couldn't agree more with ahigherway!!
You can tell that came straight from your heart and I believe I will print it off also to read when I'm not feeling the "love".....after all, like you said, that's what it's all about. Around here, we need to be reminded of that.
(I like the recent threads about "_____ speaks to me..." sorry I had to steal that idea for a thread of my own. I like the way that sounds: "speaks to me" it sounds kind and gentle.)
"God is love" speaks to me.
1 John 4
12 No one has ever seen God;
if we LOVE one another,
God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
FAQ
wow. So it's all about love then? YES.
So... you mean when we LOVE, God abides in us? YES.
So... you mean that God abides in other people, not just "christians"? YES.
So... you mean that when someone shows me love, they are really showing me a little piece of God? YES.
So God wants us to love Him, not for HIS benefit... but for ours? YES.
So that we will, in our attempts to love Him, we will first have to start to get to know Him? Afterall it does say "With all of your HEART, MIND and SOUL" correct? YES. If we are to love God with our WHOLE BEING, then obviously God is giving us this command not so that we will BLINDLY love Him, but so that we will absolutely get to know His true character. It is impossible to love God with all of your HEART, ALL of your mind and ALL of your soul (your whole being) if you are afraid of Him. God knows this. That is what is the beautiful thing about the two commands. It's not for HIS benefit, it's not to "appease" Him. It's not for his "ego". (lol!) It's for OUR benefit. Because GOD IS LOVE. The more we understand God, the more our whole being WILL love Him. Do you see how smart God is??
The "love God" command isn't about some insecure Creator saying "you must love me!" and we're all cowering "yes God... yes... I love you... I love you.. eek! i love you!!! Really, I do! I do! " It's about a Creator wanting His creation to truly see Him for WHO He is. Remember there is NO fear in LOVE. God doesn't want our FEAR. God wants our love. Because HE knows the heart that fears cannot see Him for who He truly is. The heart that fears God will be unable to experience the joy and peace that God wants us to experience. It is for OUR benefit, as individuals and as a whole (ALL of creation.. why do you think the creation still groans?! Think about it!)
The command to love God is a PUSH, a starting point to get us to start to UNDERSTAND His nature. To understanding who HE is. God knows we cannot love with our whole being if there is one trace of fear. The fear will have to walk that road to destruction, the fear will have to be DEALT with and this is the perfect way. We have to walk through our FEAR of God in order to start to truly understand who HE is. His true character. God is smart. And He is trying to tell us something.
GOD IS LOVE.
And...
LOVE conquers all.
Who is more powerful than GOD?
Anyone?? Anything??
Hatred? Is it more powerful than God?
Darkness? Is it more powerful than God?
Ignorance? Is it more powerful than God?
Lots of folks don't believe in love, because there is so little of it around them. There is so little of it being shown to them.. is it any wonder that they don't believe in it?
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.
No-one has ever seen God.
When we LOVE, we make God visible to others...and it doesn't matter if you are christian, muslim, agnostic, hindu, or what. "IF we love one another, GOD ABIDES IN US." PERIOD. Labels will flutter to the ground..
We are truly here to learn.
And YES it is ALL about Love.
Because...
God is LOVE.
We're here to learn by contrast the power of LOVE.
We're here to gain a full understanding of our Creator.
We may not be able to see the forest for the trees right now, because we are in the thick of it. We are walking THROUGH this. But I think that the forest can come into view a little if we start to really get to know our Creator's true character: LOVE.
What is so beautiful and scared to me, more than anything else, is "LOVE CONQUERS ALL" because it makes me see a light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness (non-love and all that trickles down from each little bit of non-love in this world) is being OVERCOME. LOVE will CONQUER it.
I mean that is just incredible. And to think that when we LOVE, HE abides in us... and that when we LOVE... LOVE is conquering. It's an amazing picture. The more you ponder and meditate on it, I think the more you can see the forest. And not only the forest (this life here, what we are doing here), but you can see the path out of the forest, and where this is ALL leading us ALL to... ( a future where we once and for all have EXHAUSTED non-love and wrung every bit out of it. A future where God (LOVE) is ALL in ALL which means we will all be at peace with each other, and with all of creation. A future where we finally get it. Where we finally get it that GOD IS LOVE and LOVE CONQUERS ALL. We finally get it that non-love is weak, nothing and ALWAYS leads to destruction. A future where the "lion" will lie down with the "lamb". A future of PEACE. This life isn't about a "choice". This life is about us learning what we need to learn. As individuals and as a whole. For our benefit. God most certainly is good.)
It's breathtaking and overwhelming.
Jesus came to point the way to the Father.
And that is exactly what He did.
These are some of the things that I feel I have learned from Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Just some thoughts/ideas/ponderings/opinions from over here in sparrow-land.
peace.
Absolutely awesome post, sparrow . . . can't rep you but . . .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
" It's about a Creator wanting His creation to truly see Him for WHO He is. 
Love lifted me
Love Lifted Me
