Valentines day – everyone is talking about love. Judy and I have had so many valentines day failures that we decided lets not make such a big thing of the one day a year thing!
What better day to talk about God’s love.
Jude 21 – keep yourselves in God’s love
- Need to understand God’s love –
- You need to know how to keep in it.
- What is gods love.
Paul prayed this for the Ephesians in chapter 3 “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ”
– we can have a limited view and understanding of god’s love. Even being rooted and grounded there is more to grasp
It’s easy to have misconceptions about love – this is what some kids say about love and marriage
- “If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.” — Glenn, age 7
- “Love is like an avalanche where you have to run for your life.” — John, age 9
- “I think you’re supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be so painful.” — Manuel, age 8
- “No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” — Mae, age 9
- “On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.” — Mike, 10
- “It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I’m just a kid. I don’t need that kind of trouble.” — Kenny, age 7
- “One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills.” — Ava, age 8
- “Most men are brainless, so you might have to try more than once to find a live one.” — Angie, age 10
- “Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.” — Dave, age 8
- “Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.” — Lynnette, age 8
These are some childrens misconceptions – as adults we can have misconceptions too! First lets look at the beginning of the chapter.
To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept fora Jesus Christ:
2Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance
Interesting IN rather than BY
It speaks to me of being encompassed, surrounded, protected, closeness. Not love that is distant, coming from far away. This is love that’s up close and personal.
So Jude has started his letter affirming that they are loved in God. And finishes saying keep yourselves in God’s love. It’s important in reading Jude (were not going into it now) to know the starting point – security of being in Gods love.
Whatever is happening in our lives, in our church – the security of knowing first and foremost that we are in Gods love. Jude was writing to combat serious challenges. But first – God’s love.
Actually everything in scriptures needs to be understood from the position of being in Gods love.
Here are some things I felt the Lord highlighted for me:
- It’s the fathers love. Now I’ve heard it said we shouldn’t talk about God as father – because people have bad experiences or have never known. Whatever our earthly father role models and images he is a perfect loving father. Our idea of fatherhood must come first from knowing what he is like. Scripture does not say he is LIKE a father – no he IS THE father.
It’s been said – He loves us as we are but he loves us too much to leave us where we are. He loves us as we are, we don’t have to try to make him love us. The idea is that because loves us we don’t need to change. True – he will still love us even if we don’t change. But he loves us so much he wants us to change.
He loves us so much that he wants to take us further and deeper into the promised land.
He loves us so much he wants us to prosper in him.
When I was a young christian, one of the main ways I was taught to understand salvation was that God is a just judge and Jesus has taken the penalty for my crime. The problem was the danger that I just viewed God as a judge. I’m forgiven but I still see God as someone whose main preoccupation is to judge.
- God’s love is not unemotional
We can have the idea that emotions are somehow not so good.
There can be a view that says Gods love is not about this romantic love nonsense. It’s sacrificial love.
And its true Gods love is not just about feelings. But feelings and emotions are still involved.
God is described as having emotions. He made us with emotions – emotions were not part of the fall! Emotions can be affected by fallen nature and distorted. But that doesn’t mean they are wrong in themselves.
We are told to “delight”, “rejoice”, “be glad”, “weep”, “mourn”, “to have compassion”
Jesus wept. God is said to be grieved, angry, to rejoice. These are all emotions.
In the idea of God choosing to love us, of us loving our enemies we can have the wrong idea that love is just a cold hearted choice.
If God is unemotional then his love is without emotion and then our love too would be without emotion.
The picture of the father running to the prodigal of putting on a party is an expression of God’s emotion. An unemotional father would have waited for the son to come to him. In fact in the culture for the father to run was undignified. God’s love is not dignified. Our love for him does not have to be dignified!
Not saying that we should live our life on emotions. No way! They need to take their proper place
So HIS love is with emotion – our love for him is with emotion
- God doesn’t just love you – he likes you!
Does God love you? – of course we say yes. Does he like you?
Many xians can cope with Gods love – he loves everyone, but feel it hard to think he likes them.
Definition of “to like” – to take pleasure in; find agreeable or congenial: to enjoy
God created you – the individual person you are. He gave you individual gifts and talents. He has redeemed you – how can he not like you?
Sidenote; he doesn’t love you because he just sees Jesus. He doesn’t just love the person you will be in glory. He loves you now as you are now.
Doxology – he is able to keep you. Security of him doing it.
Keep yourself in the love of God so you can enjoy the benefits and blessings
Keep has idea of keep watch over. Set a guard upon.
We need to know it and be convinced of it in our minds and experience it in our hearts. It’s not just theoretical
How to keep in his love
You’ve got to be in it to keep yourself in it.
You are in it – you just may not feel like it.
Keep yourself in the love of God so you can enjoy the benefits and blessings
- Make a choice – a deliberate act
- Build yourselves up – Gk sometimes translated one another
- Holy Spirit inspired praying
- Listen to what he is saying and see what he is doing
- Cultivate his presence – times when you draw aside, times of coming together with others, everywhere you go.
Conclusion
In the story of the prodigal – I guess the son did not keep himself in the love of the father. But the father didn’t stop loving him. Although running away separated him from experiencing the fathers love it didn’t stop the father loving him.
Nothing can separate us from HIS LOVE Romans 8