October 27 I Thursday

Jeremiah 12-14

2 Timothy 1

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”    —2 Corinthians 13:14

John’s first letter perfectly sums up God’s character in three words: “God is love.” We may have heard the reverse being said—“Love is God”—but that is not true. Although “2 equals two” and “two equals 2” are the same in the reverse, “God is love” and “Love is God” express a different nuance in the reverse. The latter denotes love as god while the former refers to “love” as the very nature of God.

       When we say, “God is love,” it is different from saying, “God is power” and we see His power displayed, or “God is all-knowing” and we see indications of His knowledge or “God is present everywhere” and we experience God’s omnipresence. These are all attributes of God, but God’s love is something much deeper than that. It is not an attribute, but His essential being. God does not need to attain or maintain His love because God IS love.

       In fact, the Trinity wonderfully displays how God is love. The Trinity is a Christian doctrine that holds to there being one God, but three co-eternal consubstantial persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are all kind of arguments presented for and against the Trinity with certain groups and sects that deny the Trinity. But the fact that God is love proves an existence of the Trinity because love, by definition, must have an object.

       Imagine meeting a teenage girl with her knees knocked, eyes rolling and all giddy. Then we walk up to her and ask, “What’s the matter with you?” She exclaims to us, “Oh, I am all in love!” We probe a little further, “Who are you in love with?” And she excitedly responds, “Nobody, I’m just in love!” Does this even makes sense? Can we just be in love? No, we cannot, because love requires an object, whether it is a dog, a car or a person.

       The fact that God is love presupposes the existence of the Trinity: the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Spirit, the Spirit loves the Father, etc. It is a love relationship because God is love. When the ministry of the Holy Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts, we are in touch with His heart as Paul tells us, “… God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 5:5). When our hearts connect, we are drawn into a relationship with God. As we study and understand the Word of God, may we not miss out on the heart of God—His love shared by the Father, shown by the Son and poured out by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Dear Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I love You. Thank You for pouring out Your love in me. May the love that I express to others be a reflection of who You are in my life.