God is Love: Gospel Today Devotional - 3rd December, 2023

KNOWING GOD SERIES

It is one thing to be told who a person is, it is another thing to know for yourself who a person is. It is one thing to say you know a person, it is another for you to show by solid proofs that of a truth you know a person. You may be told things concerning a person, this may be either good or bad, but to base your judgment on what you were told concerning a person is not the best way to live, is it? This is the reason most times, it is advised that you go close to a person before thinking or saying anything concerning such a person. Praise God!

The emphasis here today is that you can't just claim to know someone by what people say about the person, you must show by proofs that you know the person of a truth. That said, for some days now, we have been discussing about God, and his attributes in the series, knowing God, and it has been a blessing, right? We shall be considering another one of God's attributes today, and I trust that he would speak to your heart, and mine through his word in Jesus' name.

The fact that you decide to act like a woman if you're a man, does that mean you're a woman? The answer is no. You can only put up a show, but it will never rule out the fact that you are not what you claim to be, and that you're only trying to be what you're not. You cannot claim a nature that is not originally yours, can you? This is one thing about God. We need to understand that God does not try to be God. He is God of a truth. Other people may try but they can never match up, never! Let's see another one of God's attributes in the passage of scripture below,

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. [16] And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him". (1 John 4:8, 16).

In the opening paragraph, it was said that by proofs one is able to show that he knows a person isn't it? Yes, of course. If you look at the passage above, is that not what this passage of scripture is talking about as well? The proof that one knows God lies in his expression of God's inherent nature; love. No one can claim to know God if he does not love, why? Because the God who he claims to know is love personified. If truly one claims to know God, it means such a person has been begotten of God, and knows God, why? Because he shows forth the trait of God which is love. This is clear, and the scripture cannot be broken, he who does not love (either God or his brother) does not know the God who is love.

Believers, and everyone reading this today must know this, that God doesn't try to love, he doesn't pretend to love. God does not struggle to love. He is not one who is hypocritical in nature. God is not one who shows forth the trait of love for all to see. If this is your idea about God, then this is for you. The truth remains, and will ever remain that God is love. That is his nature. That is who he is. It's just as though we are saying another name for God is love. You cannot separate God from love, and you cannot separate love from God. God is love! He loved from the beginning, he loves even now, and will continue to love because that is who he is.

Having known that God is love, if we claim to know God, it then means that we must love even as God loves. It means that as children of his, having received this nature of love, we are to show by our actions that we know him. No matter what you do, if this trait is not seen in you, it means one thing, that you do not know God, why? Because God is love, and it is expected that he who dwells in God should at the same time dwell in love. If you truly know him, then you must first love him, and then love your neighbour as yourself. Remember, God is love, and he that loves is he that knows God. May the Lord cause his word to remain ever fresh in our hearts. Amen.

Thought for the day: 

God does not struggle to love. God is love, and if you claim to know him, then you must show forth this trait as one who does truly know him, and has been begotten of him.

Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08161655758 or Email: [email protected].