Created To Love

Deuteronomy 10:12

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

I love what God did with Israel. He commanded them, saying: "I require you to love Me with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your soul, and with all your might. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself."

God gave this command knowing they could not fully obey it. He knew their neighbor would often be the person trying to harm or destroy them. He knew humanity was not capable of fulfilling the commandment to love under these circumstances. So, what did He do? He provided sacrifices, knowing they wouldn’t meet the standard on their own.

It is important to note that in the Old Covenant, God equated love with obedience. If Israel obeyed the law by offering sacrifices as instructed to cover their faults, their obedience would serve as proof that they trusted and loved God.

However, the kind of love God desired was a love that only He could give. It was more than obedience. However, the scripture below reveals the difference between Israel and the Church.

1 John 4:16

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

The Church is the workmanship of God, created in God and God is love. Our submission to the faith of Jesus Christ is our obedience and the manifestation of our love.

Ephesians 3:16-2

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The reason God created the Church was so that He could express Himself. Being that God is love, who could He express it to? Even the angels could not comprehend that kind of love. They do not understand it because they were not created with the capacity to receive or express it.

God had no one to express Himself to—no one. Many times in Scripture, God declared that if there were any other gods like Him, they should come forth—but none did. There is no one like Him, and if this is true, it means He was alone.

Imagine our God—so full of love, yet with absolutely no one to express it to. When God began loving mankind, even the angels questioned: "What is man, that You are so mindful of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels, yet placed him over all creation." There is a love God has for His Children that He does not have for the any other beings on the planet, even the angels.

What God is saying is, "My children can experience emotions and affections that angels cannot. I did not create angels as I am. They are not My offspring—you are. Angels were created to obey; YOU were created to love."

AS HE IS, SO ARE WE

1 John 4:17

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

The only reason God created mankind was love. His ultimate goal is to have a family. But think about what a family is—it means we all share the same essence, the same spirit. If He is the Father, and I have His Spirit, then I am His child. That means what He is capable of, I am capable of.

When you teach and raise your child for 18 years, what are you doing? You are preparing them to do everything you have done—and even more. It is no different with God. He created us to be as He is.

God says, "Not only have you experienced My love, but now you can reciprocate it. You can love Me back."

Look at us—we often think we are weak, but we are not as weak as we believe. We are stronger, mightier, and different from anything else ever created. We are the only creatures who can turn our backs on everything except God. We do not need money, clothes, prestige, notoriety, or friends. The whole world can be against us, and we will still be okay, as long as we have God with us. Even if we are told, "If you say the name of Jesus again, we are going to kill you," our response would be, "Okay."

Why would we do that? Because the love we have is not like the world’s love. The love we have is a power—it is agape love, God’s love, which is Himself, the Spirit of God. This love enables us to do the impossible.

Ephesians 3:9-10

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

The Church is the wisdom of God manifested. We are the only people on the planet who can render agape love because, at our creation—at salvation—we were conceived by God’s Spirit. What He can do, we can do, and He expects that of us because that is what He created us to be.

What did God require of Israel? He told them to love their neighbors. But for us, His Church, He requires even more—He commands us to love our enemies. If we were not His offspring, this would not be possible.

CREATED TO LOVE, NOT STRUGGLE

He did not create us to have internal struggles, doubts, or constant wars within ourselves. That is not Christ. This is why Scripture says, "If they had known, they would not have crucified Him."

We do not realize our strength, but the principalities do. They know that if they cannot deceive or distract us, we are as God is in heaven. When they confront us, they are dealing with the same God who reigns in heaven. The problem is, we are the ones who have not yet been fully educated to understand this.

Before we received the Holy Spirit, it was impossible for us to understand the depth of God’s love. There was no way to grasp it. But now, here stands an entire generation—the 42nd generation, Jesus Christ’s generation. A whole race of sons who have the same Spirit as Christ and who can give God the same love Jesus gave.

Oh, what Amazing Grace!

GOD’S LOVE: THE GIFT OF REPENTANCE

The Scriptures declare that heaven rejoices when just one soul comes into the Kingdom. Why is this so? It is because God gains someone else to love—someone who can understand and reciprocate His love.

We are God’s way of expressing His love. The angels cannot understand it, but we can. When we experience God, we come to realize how much He loves us. Even when we fall into sin, the knowledge of His love pulls us back. It is this understanding that makes us repent and say, "Lord, please take me back." No matter how hard it is, we return because we understand His love.

Think about your own affection for God. Even when everything is going wrong—when you are facing trials and the devil is throwing everything at you—you can still say, "God is good." No one else in the universe can do that but us.

God says, "Not only have you experienced My love, but now you can reciprocate it. You can love Me back." He desired this so deeply that He extends repentance to us, giving us chance after chance, renewing His mercy every day. Though the devil tries his best, he cannot compete with the influence of God’s love on the heart. In fact, God is in no way in competition with the devil.

It is impossible to catch God off guard. When Satan tempted Adam and filled him with iniquity, God saw it as part of His plan. That iniquity would only drive humanity closer to Him. Adam walked in the garden, trying to obey God, but when it came to love, he chose his wife. God allowed it because He knew that Adam’s conscience would eventually lead him back to God, despite the struggle with sin.

This is why we praise God the way we do. Our praise comes from what He has delivered us from. Scripture says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." Praise is an expression of love—it says, "I love You, Lord. Thank You, Lord." We praise God in the midst of everything because we understand what He has done for us. Even before a word is preached, praise is given for deliverance.