Sunday Musings: God Is Love

This is from my book, "The Fruits of the Spirit: Love" Day 1: God Is Love

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was Life. And Life was the Light of Men. And the Light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

1 John 4:16

God is love. And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.

Before the beginning of this earth, God existed. Jesus existed! He was and is The Word. He is LOVE!

We are sons and daughters of God because He created us.

We are sons and daughters of Love.

Every single one of us.

Not just the ones that have embraced Him but all of us. Just like the children that you have given life to are your sons and daughters, even if they reject you.

Every baby born is a gift from God, sent from heaven, created by the Father of all, and His child, entrusted to an earthly mother.

Whether we choose to be a part of God’s family is entirely up to us. He won’t force us to be. We can choose not to be recognized by God. We can choose to turn our backs on our Father. We can choose to say, “I am a child of God” or to say, “There is no God,” or to say, “I choose a different god.”

He will recognize those who choose Him. Sadly, most won’t. But we still have the choice.

That’s how love works. It isn’t about control or force. Love is always a choice. God does not force us. He doesn’t take away our choices. And if we don’t want to be His son or daughter, He will respect that choice.

We were not made for this earth. The earth was made for us. Everything that He created was for our good, for our enjoyment, for our growth. It is abundantly rich with more than enough for everyone.

I looked up how many fruits there are in the world and there’s no definitive answer. On the low side, there are over two thousand different fruits. And within those fruits are hundreds of species of those fruits. There are over seventy-five hundred types of apples, over a thousand varieties of bananas, and over two thousand different peaches. It would be almost impossible to create a garden to hold all the various varieties.

This tells me that God wants us to eat fruit. He made it pleasing to the eye. It was the first food mentioned in the bible. It comes in all kinds of colours and shapes and flavours. Those diets that tell you not to eat fruit are actually telling you that the food God made for you is bad.

When it comes to vegetables and herbs, there are even more. God gave us over twenty thousand edible plants. I am sure this number includes grains and nuts, which in comparison is relatively small.

Perhaps our diets should be heavy on fruits and vegetables and light on animal products and grains, simply because of the abundance and variety God has provided so we won’t get bored.

While the Israelites wandered in the desert they got manna from heaven. But we are blessed with so many different types of food. No one should ever have to be hungry. People are hungry because of what man has created, not because of God.

God loves flowers. He created over 400,000 different kinds. They don’t just provide us with beauty, although it is clear that God loves beautiful things. That alone makes them worthwhile, but they also provide food for animals, and medicines, fragrances, dyes, and edibles for humans.

Flowers also bring joy. How much more beautiful a house is when flowers surround and decorate it. It lifts the spirit to have someone give you flowers, whether it’s from the florist, their garden, or from a meadow on the side of the road. Remember the joy you had bringing your mother a handful of dandelions and how she thanked you for them? She meant it. By the way, the lowly dandelion that people like to destroy because it’s seen as a weed is a source of food for honey bees, aerates and nitrifies the soil, has medicinal qualities, and the entire flower from root to the top of the yellow bloom can be eaten.

Not only has God provided the earth with all the trees, the waters, and the animals, but He also created special people who furthered our understanding in science and the arts, and in our knowledge of God.

And He has provided us with a guidebook, a history book, a book of comfort, a book of wisdom, and a book of knowledge, all in one volume. In these latter days, we are overwhelmingly blessed with how easily accessible it is to us compared to how it was when most people never had access to it.

It all points to God’s great love for us. God is in all He creates. He created all that is good and for our benefit.

Why has He created such abundance?

Because He loves US. He loves YOU. He loves the murderer in the prison cell, the drug addict, the corrupt preacher, and even the person who hurt you the most. He loves us ALL and it breaks His heart when we don’t love Him back.

And because He loves us so much, He gave us freedom to choose. Which means he gave freedom for other people to choose. Which means that sometimes other people’s choices hurt us.

But He either gives us all the freedom of choice, or none of us the freedom of choice.

The argument of atheists is, “If there was a God, He wouldn’t let bad things happen. He would show Himself and He would swoop down and fix things and prevent bad things from happening. He doesn’t. So there’s no God.”

But imagine a world where He did that. Where He just fixed everything, and He didn’t allow bad stuff to happen or allow anyone to make a bad choice.

You might be thinking, “That would be awesome!”

But what kind of people would we be if we never had to fix a problem, never had to help a neighbour, never had to sacrifice for the sake of another?

We would be really horrible, awful, selfish people who would be good for nothing. There would be no reason for us to be kind, or compassionate, or innovative, or problem-solving, because God would do it all.

Instead, He gave us all the tools we need: intelligent brains, compassionate hearts, hands, feet and backs, and His guidance and help.

He chose to give us our free agency and promised to pick up the pieces of the wrong choices. Not just our wrong choices, but also the wrong choices of others that affected us. He promised to heal us from all the sins and mistakes.

Sure, it might have been easier to make us obedient robots with no thoughts of our own. He wouldn’t have to clean up messes then.

But that’s not love.

And God is Love.

And He wants us to love Him freely and by choice.

When the judgment day comes, there will be broken hearts, even of the righteous, but the heart that will be broken the most will be God’s.

We are because God is Love. Before the beginning of time, God was Love. And when this time on earth is over, God will still be Love.

*****

I wrote a song for this post. No, that's not my voice or music, but I wrote the lyrics:

https://suno.com/s/k6eUC46gftzqykET