#146: DIVINE LOVE

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4Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessings come to someone. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. 5Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. 6Love joyfully celebrates honestly and finds no delight in what is wrong. 7Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
 [1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (TPT)]

Love falls into two major categories: The Divine love and the Human love. The Divine love is unselfish while the Human love is selfish; The Divine love has no limitations while the Human love has much limitations; The Divine love is independent of circumstances while the Human love is dependent on circumstances; The Divine love is the very nature of God while the Human love is the nature of the flesh.

Divine Love is not in itself tingles or actions. It is a nature, and it’s that nature that births the tingles and actions; they are only but expressions of love. The 1st Corinthians 13 love speaks of the very nature of God made manifest in and through us by His Spirit. Anyone born of God has this nature but the only hindrance is in the expression of it. The degree to which this love finds expression in us is dependent on the level of our submission and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. One can only genuinely love God and love others on this basis of vulnerability and flexibility to the move of Holy Spirit.

The Bible narrates the story of a beautiful damsel named Tamar and her step brother, Amnon. He loved her so much that he couldn’t even rest or sleep. When he finally got his way with her and violated her, he hated her even more than he had loved her. The tingles had wavered and the love could no longer hold water. What manner of love is this? This is nothing more than human love birthed out of selfish desires. It is only Divine love that will keep on even after the tingles have faded away.

If feelings were the basis of love, even Jesus would not have gone to the cross because he sure didn’t feel like it. He went to that cross regardless of how he felt because he had the very nature of God in Him made manifest. Divine love loves regardless; whether we feel like it or not. For in this kingdom, we walk by faith and not by sight or feelings. Divine love doesn’t expect anything in return whether reciprocated or not. Its focus is not on what it stands to gain but it looks out for the best interest of others. Divine love believes the best of every person, it puts up with everyone and it takes no account of evil done to it.

There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends. The ultimate expression of Divine love is ‘sacrifice’. God laid His only begotten son on the altar that all may come to the knowledge of Him; that is the greatest show of His love for humanity; a love that existed even before the foundations of the earth. God laid down this example for us to follow. That the way of love is the way of sacrifice. The sacrifice of our flesh, our time, our words, our material resources, our service, and our energy. All of these flows freely from the nature of God inside of us that has now become our nature. Love is the nature of every believer, but it can only grow in the place of intimacy with the father; in the place of prayer and meditation on the word. It’s by dwelling that we grow to look more and more like Him and ultimately become expressions of His glory; His very nature and character.

PRAYER:
Father, I want to look like you in every way. I want to be an epitome of your glory
You’re love yourself; Let your nature find expression in and through me each and every day
Thank you, Father, for your love. Thank you because Love is my nature
I declare that tremendous grace has been made available to me to dwell in your presence and that my love abounds yet more and more in all wisdom and Spiritual understanding.
Amen.

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