Labor of Love

1 Corinthians 1:3

What is love? Love is God promising humanity a saviour and the Father fulfilled His promise in Jesus Christ. Love can be found in John 3:16, “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This verse depicts the true heart of God and demonstrates to the world what true love is. The words “world and whosoever” encompasses every one. God is not concerned about race, creed, color or social status; He is concerned about humanity’s salvation. For this reason God gave the best and all He had to provide mankind with everlasting life. What love?

1 John 4:9 supports God’s love for humanity which is evidence through Jesus Christ that “we may live through him.” God tells us in1 John 4:7 to love one another because He is the source of our love and there is no greater love than the love of God who lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we can overcome the evils of this world, which includes Satan’s temptations, persecutions and false teachings. With the Holy Spirit aiding the believer, we can live victoriously according to God’s will for our lives in Christ (Romans 8:37, Word Study Bible).

Once believers establish a vertical relationship with God, then believers can develop a horizontal relationship one to another (v7). Love is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and evidenced in our new birth and spiritual maturity. In addition, it is something the believer is responsible to develop because (a) it is God’s nature and we are born of Him, (b) He is love and believers experience His love and forgiveness. What love!

1 John 4:10 states, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” What is left to say about God and His love; it transcends all definitions and actions. How do we as believers respond to God’s love? Deuteronomy 6:5 answers the question on how believers are to respond to God’s love given all that He has done for humanity. Verse 5 is a commandment given by God and is regarded as the greatest commandment of all. Furthermore verse 5 supports Mark 12:29-31 in regards to the believer’s relationship to God and one another.

It was a labor of love that our Savior Jesus Christ went to the cross as humanity’s propitiator in complete obedience His father. How are we to respond? We are to remember His work on the cross in faith and that Jesus Christ paid humanity’s sin debt at Calvary. It was a labor of love from a human perspective because Jesus was both man and God. In His humanity, Jesus suffered brutal pain and agony many hours for mankind. In Sovereignty Jesus willingly gave His life bridging the divide between man and God. During those atoning hours God, the Father could not look on His Son; even the heavenly bodies went out of control; the sun refused to shine, the earth reeled back and forth like a drunken man and mid-day looked like night, because the second person in the Godhead was taking on humanity’s sins.

Remembering what God the Father and His Son done for us, we should love God first and then “one another in deed and in truth” (1 Johns 3:18). This shows that we have the love of God in us and we are the sons of God. Love is the focal point of our being an has been written and testified of, we as believers can delight ourselves in the LORD because we are loved and at any time we feel unloved we can pray this prayer, “LORD thank you for encompassing me with your love” (Light For My Path for Women, Jennifer Hahn). This prayer is powerful and reflective of foot prints in the sand saying; when we are in trouble and there are one set of footprints it is our Lord carrying us. Another view point on God’s love, when troubles over shadows us and we feel unloved; God’s love is the umbrella that protects us. God said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” Take God at His word and enjoy His all encompassing love.


The book, The Lord Is My Shepherd is available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, and PublishAmerica.com.

Read and be blessed. Post your comments to the envelope.

Willie White,
The author