1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Perfect Love
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. 1 John 4:17

As children, we all dream about happily ever after. We pine away waiting for the
knight on the white horse or daydream about love that is never anything less than
perfect. When you think of perfect love . . . who do you think of? While most of
you probably said Cinderella and Prince Charming; when I think of perfect love,
my thoughts turn to Adam and Eve.

Kind of a bad choice for perfect love you might say; but Adam and Eve, while
best known for the single worst mistake in history, were still the first couple ever
made for each other in the literal and spiritual sense. God made Eve especially
for Adam. She was made for him and from him. Their relationship was Gods
handiwork and despite the whole apple thing, they created quite the life together.

Just like many love stories today, I have never turned a pumpkin into a carriage
and my husband has never trotted in on a white horse to save me from some
wicked queen. However, I have turned lemons into lemonade many days and he
makes the cutest neigh when he gives our kids piggyback rides around the front
lawn. We bicker from time to time. We dont go dancing on Friday nights or
awake every morning to breakfast in bed. He snores. I nag. He watches too
much Sports Center and I watch too much Lifetime. But while we two are far from
perfect, we love each other perfectly. God created our marriage in His perfect
manner, in His perfect way . . . as only He can do.

God tells us in 1 John 4:12, If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his
love is perfected in us. So even though Adam and Eve were the epitome of
imperfection, even though Adam probably forgot to take out the trash and Eve
probably forgot to wash his leaf now and then, their imperfection was made
perfect in their love for one another. No matter how flawed they were, their
marriage was created in perfect love because the Master created it and He dwelt
within the midst.

Dont stress over living up to the fairytale. Your love story, no matter how simple
or how elaborate, was designed by God. He perfected it. He wrote it. He even
illustrated it and signed his name on your copy. Hes the author and the finisher.
(Hebrews 12:2)

Happily ever after doesnt always come with ball gowns and white horses. Most
of the time, it comes with sweat pants and minivans . . . but thats ok, because if
it comes from God, its perfect and nothing less.

The Unconditional Love of God

A pair of hands methodically began to scoop up the loose ground, moving it

into a pile. When a sufficient amount of earth had been placed in the pile, the
hands began to move the earth around swiftly. The earth began to take a
shape unseen before. When the earth had been fashioned into the desired
form, the Creator bent down, looked approvingly at the shape and placed His
mouth over the earthen lips of the form. He breathed, forcing air into the
earthen vessel He had fashioned. Suddenly, miraculously, the form responded
to the breath and sprang to life. Adam was aware that he was the culmination
and climax of creation and that the Creator had just formed a special bond
with him-a relationship of love (see Genesis 2:7).
The Very Nature of God is Love

Volumes have been written about the characteristics of God, but when it is
distilled to the most basic categories, He is love (1 John 4:8), life (Jeremiah
10:10; Revelation 22:1), and holiness (Psalms 99:9). And in reality, His life and
holiness are based upon and are an expression of His love: love gives, so He
gives life; love desires the best, so holiness proceeds from Him.

Love is not something he chooses to do or give. It is the very essence of who

He is. He doesn't just love-He is love (1 John 4:16). It motivates His every
action, directs His activities, and reflects His desires (1 John 4:10). Love is the
greatest and purest essence of who a person is and its proper expression
brings fulfillment.

However, God's love is not like the love expressed by many in our culture
today: a love of convenience and ego. That is, "I will love you as long as you
add value to my life and please me. When that ceases, so does my love for
you." For many, love is conditional. The conditions may be different depending
upon the relationship, but there are still conditions to be met in order to "earn"
our love.

William Bennett, former Secretary of Education and author of The Book of

Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories (1993), once said that he attended
a wedding where the vows had been changed to reflect this love of
convenience. He decided to send a gift to the couple that reflected their
commitment to the marriage-a package of paper plates! He said he figured the
package would last as long as the marriage.

This attitude stands in stark contrast to God's unconditional love, which never
fails (Psalms 52:8), endures forever (Psalms 106:1), is uncalculating (Proverbs
30:5), and not motivated by personal gain (1 John 3:16). Unconditional love
does not mean that God loves everything we do, but rather His love is so
intense that He loves every sinner, no matter how vile and despicable he or
she may be in the eyes of humanity, so much that He provides a way for them
to find love, life, and holiness (John 3:16). "Intense love does not measure, it
just gives" (Mother Teresa).

The Focus of God's Love is Redemption

Daily, Adam and Eve walked with God, until the desire for pleasure overcame
their love for God (see Genesis 3). This break in the relationship required
redemption.

God's love (and our own!) is not an abstract ideal, but a concrete reality that
finds expression. Love that is not expressed through the giving of self,
practical action and sacrifice is not love. Love must meet the emotional,
physical, and spiritual needs of those loved. It is costly, brings vulnerability,
and seeks the person's highest good (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

God's unconditional and intense love for fallen humanity motivated the plan of
salvation (Revelation 1:5). Simply, salvation is God making us whole or
complete. It is a healing of the soul, bringing us back to the state of Adam
when God breathed life into him and made him aliving soul. Separation from
God, caused by sin, is separation from life. A person might have biological life,
but not the quality of life God envisions for us.

A few years ago I encountered Marc, a house painter. He promptly told me

that he knew I was a preacher, but he didn't have much for Christians or
preachers because of some bad experiences. I quickly prayed for wisdom and
said, "Marc, Christians are a lot like painters. Not everyone who claims to be
one is. Of those who are, some are better than others. And even the best
make mistakes." He paused and replied, "I've never thought about it like that."
Our friendship continued to develop. One day, he called to tell me that he and
his wife had given their hearts to the Lord. He was amazed that he felt so alive
and free. God's love brings cleansing, freedom, and wholeness. True love is
liberating, not restrictive. This does not give us a license to sin, but the
freedom to serve God completely, motivated by love, and empowered by the
Spirit.
God's love motivates His compassion and mercy (love in action). His love
brings transformation. Usually at baptism, the minister will quote from Matthew
28:19 and baptize the person "in the Name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit." We clap, raise our hands, and miss the truth of the event. It
is more than a public expression of one's faith. At baptism, we are baptized
(immersed) into the very character of the Father (love), the character of the
Son (grace), and the character of the Holy Spirit (fellowship; see 2 Corinthians
13:13).

Salvation is based on God's fervent love and mercy, not our worthiness (Titus
3:4-5). One response (in the image of Jesus Christ's offering on the Cross) is
that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1).

The Goal of God's Love is Relationship

Love requires relationship, as love is a dynamic force or presence that

naturally seeks expression. Simply put, love loves! And in order to do that
there must be an object of that love or it is incomplete.

God's love is revealed in that He created us in His own image (a position of

responsibility before God) and likeness (moral freedom; Genesis 1:26-27; Job
33:4). Part of that image/likeness is freedom of choice. We can choose to
accept and embrace God's love or we can choose to ignore or reject it. We
were formed from dust, but because of God's great love for us, we received
the breath of God, with its intrinsic and inherent life. This life gives us the
capacity and desire to be in relationship (understanding; self-awareness;
communicative; ability to have fellowship) and to love in return. To live in God
is to live in love (1 John 4:16).

Our relationship with God is an intimate one. There is a sacred knowledge and
expression that takes place. To know Him intimately is to open the door for
revelation and fulfillment. It brings change or transformation-change of
essence, expression, behavior, desires, identity, and security. The bond is so
strong that God says a nursing mother may abandon her child, but He will
never abandon us (Isaiah 49:15-16). He becomes the ultimate Father!

When we reflect upon the intensity of our relationship with God, self-doubt
often arises. Can we keep our end of the bargain? Of great comfort (and a
pressing challenge) is the thought that our relationship with God is not the
sum of our activity directed toward God, but the intensity of our relationship
with God as expressed through our devotion to him, our obedience to his
wishes, and our attitudes toward his will and best desires for us. He loved us
first, enabling us to respond properly to His love (1 John 4:10-11). And His
love (and ability) never fails.

A young student asked Karl Barth to share the most significant theological
truth he had discovered in all of his years of study. Barth, one of the most
prolific theologians of the 20th century, wrote approximately sixty volumes of
commentaries and theological studies. This brilliant man that many call the
most important theologian of modern times thought for a moment, smiled, and
said, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Nothing-absolutely nothing-can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:35-

39)!