It’s Friday…God Means To Be Enjoyed

It’s Valentine’s Day. God love you and me, and He love us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. Jesus said this about God the Father –

“The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:27)

If we read Jesus’ words carefully, it may surprise us that there seems to be a condition attached to God’s love. Jesus tells us that the Father loves us “because.” Doesn’t unconditional love mean that God love us, period? Why is loving Jesus first a condition of the Father loving us? Why is there this frightening “because” in Jesus’s words?

In John 14-16 Jesus had been speaking mostly about unconditional love (agape) – the noblest form of love by which God defines Himself and those who have given their lives to Him. But here, Jesus switches the terms. In John 16:27 He is referring to the phileo kind of love, the brotherly affection that characterizes true friendship. God loves (agape) every person in the world; but He has a genuine, enthusiastic intimacy (phileo) with those who have affection for Jesus. It is not unconditional. It is a very human kind of love, and God took on a very human form when He sent Jesus to have it with us. Amazing, isn’t it?

We often love Jesus because we ought to, not because we just can’t help ourselves. And we should love Him this way. Agape is the only kind of love that stands firm when circumstances shift. But we should love Him with pleasure, too. God Means To Be Enjoyed.

So, what kind of love do we have for Jesus? Is it only the agape love – noble and purposeful, but sometimes lacking in warmth of friendship? Or is it the phileo kind of love as well – an irrepressible affection for One whose presence we actually enjoy? If we believe in Jesus – lovingly and enthusiastically – we experience the kind of love that comes from the heart of God not only because it is right, but also because it is enjoyable. Let’s cultivate both kinds of love. Let’s enjoy the blessing of God’s full affection.

Have a love-filled weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who know Him as a good, good Friend and enjoy His company more than anyone else’s or anything.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)