God's Consistent Love for Everyone

God has demonstrated His perfect, persistent love for all people, and we are to show love for Him and for humanity. The Bible is a remarkable record of God's love; it is the greatest love story ever told, a history of God's unconditional love for everyone.

What is love? To love is to esteem, to hold in high regard. Love is loyal, compassionate, selfless, and sacrificial. Love is a strong, passionate feeling for another. It includes fondness, care, kindness, friendship, good will, generosity, and benevolence.

Love is not just one of God's attributes; it is His essential nature. Love is from God, and we can love like our heavenly Father.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and he who loves is begotten of God and is coming to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love.

In this the love of God was made manifest where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique Son, into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the atoning sacrifice] for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so, we also ought to love one another. No one has at any time seen God. But if we love one another, God abides [lives and remains] in us, and His love [that love which is essentially His] is brought to completion [to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected] in us. (1 John 4:7–12 AB)

God is the personification of enduring love. This love is beyond human comprehension, but by God's grace we can recognize the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of His love. We have to experience for ourselves the love of Christ Jesus, which far surpasses mere intellectual knowledge. To enjoy the fullness of God's goodness requires concrete action. We must be doers, not just hearers, of His Word, advancing from consistent practice to continual perfection in God's love.

God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He is with us all the way, filling our spirits, souls, and bodies with His Word and His perfect, persistent love. If we pray diligently for God to take total control of our physical and spiritual endeavors and to help us face all challenges, we will remain in His love. Our loving God's grace is sufficient for us, and we will progress ever forward in victory, always in Jesus's name.

God's love for humanity is everlasting. This love is unmerited, but He gives it free. God offers strength, faith, hope, courage, and above all, eternal life. All of this is freely accessible through His love and grace. God's love is sacrificial; He gave His only begotten Son for us. Christ's perfect sacrifice demonstrated God's love for all people. God's love is unconditional. He loves us passionately just the way we are. He extends His loving hands in an invitation to humanity. We can reciprocate this matchless love by loving God, ourselves, and others.

Little children provide an example of innocent love, sincerity, and acceptance that God wants Christians to emulate. They love with kindness and compassion and without looking back. No wonder Christ Jesus loved the little children and said they showed how we should accept the kingdom of God. "People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them" (Mark 10:13–16 NIV).

If you reflect on your life, you will realize that God has worked miracles for you directly or indirectly through others. Someone somewhere has been God's channel to you. When you look back you will say, "This was a work of God; this was an extraordinary expression of love, a timely intervention. It was God's handiwork, part of His perfect plan." Maybe the recipient of the miracle was a parent, an uncle, an aunt, a grandparent, a brother, a sister, a classmate, a colleague, or a friend. God's love have been manifested to me through all such people and many more whom I have cherished.

We are all familiar with God's exceptional acts of benevolent love, and we express love to God and others. We have an idea of what love is, and even if the people we love hurt us, we still help them, offering compassion, mercy, and forgiveness from the heart. This can be easy when we are dealing with family and friends, but God wants us to do more. He wants us to love our foes, who do not care if they harm us. God commands us to love everyone the way He loves us. Words cannot describe the magnitude of God's love, and neither can we comprehend it. Nonetheless God entrusts us with this responsibility and expects us to demonstrate His love to all people.

God's love is indescribable. Jesus Christ laid down His life in humility, mercy, faithfulness, and truth, and that is good news for humanity. Because love is God's divine nature and the integral character of Jesus Christ, it is the preeminent priority of God and of Christians. God's love brought humanity salvation from sin, life from death, light from darkness, hope out of hopelessness, harmony from hostility, faith from fear, strength from weakness, peace from conflict, purpose from pointlessness.

God's love is agape love. Through His beloved Son, God made Himself known to the world, revealing His nature to humanity. Jesus Christ came to do His Father's will and to make Him known. People recognized and felt in their hearts the love of God revealed through Christ when He took on humanity's nature. God's sacrificial love for the human race is summarized in this Bible verse: "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world, that He gave up His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16 AB).

This is God's perfect, persistent love for all people. He demonstrated His love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, He sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself. His love for those who believe in the Lord Jesus is unfailing. Everyone who keeps God's commands loves Him. We must ardently love Jesus Christ as we are loved by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God, who created the universe, the heavens, the earth, the seas, and everything in them, including humanity, so greatly loved us that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. We must recognize this profound reality and show the same love for God and for each other.

Agape love is God's perfect, persistent love for all people. He wills that His children demonstrate this amazing love for one another. When they do this, they attest true discipleship to the world.

Agape love also describes the essential nature of God. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:8 KJV). Love is known by the actions it prompts. God made His love abundantly clear in the gift of His Son to the world. The Lord Jesus gave us the perfect expression of love by sacrificing His life for all.

The love of Christ produces the fruits of the Holy Spirit in His followers. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the qualities that His presence within us yields: love, joy, kindness, gladness, peace, patience, perseverance, forbearance, forgiveness, goodness, benevolence, faithfulness, gentleness, meekness, humility, self-control, magnanimity, altruism, compassion. Like God's law, His love brings responsibility. Love is the lubricant that bends the will to godly obedience. Love enables us to observe God's commandments. Without love we are nothing. God's perfect love leads to spiritual success, allowing us to increase all virtues for the advancement of humanity and of God's kingdom.

God's love gives us understanding, consideration, compassion, and sensitivity. His love leads us to be nonjudgmental, lenient, and tolerant of others. God's love allows us to overlook their faults and mistakes in forgiveness. Knowing that we have our own faults, we should be less inclined to criticize others. God's love shows us the need to forgive and to accept our own guilt, repent, accept forgiveness by grace through the atonement blood of Jesus Christ. We must pardon others' mistakes and move forward in forgiveness with peace in our hearts. That is what God's love demands.

Love inspired by the Holy Spirit never fails but always allows us to flourish. This love tames our tongues and gives us wisdom, honesty, and complete credibility. Our words benefit all those we encounter. God's love encourages, builds up, and strengthens others. His love is courteous, contagious, kind, forgiving and free of indecent frivolity.

God's love conveys a message of salvation for sinners, restoration, and physical, spiritual, and emotional healing. His perfect love offers comfort for those who mourn, laughter for those who are sad, and provision for those in need. God's love conveys the good news of the divine presence that accompanies us all along life's tangled way, supplying guidance, provision, support, and protection. God calls us to live according to the standard of caring and compassion revealed in His love for all people and in His Word.

How great is our God with His perfect, persistent love for all people! His mercy, compassion, justice, truth, and faithfulness endure forever. God made everything in His infinite wisdom; heaven and earth are full of His glory. God's love is the embodiment of gracious goodness to all. By God's power the sun rises and sets and the seasons change. The moon and the stars in their brightness reflect His glory. The heavens, the earth, the seas, and their inhabitants testify to God's majesty and to His gracious love. God's unending love will carry us through all life's trials. No matter how strenuous the way, God's love will preserve us; our maker is always with us.

At times, we may have to look for God and His divine love, but He is always nearer than we can perceive. Sometimes we must wait on God. Abraham and Sarah waited on God for their promised child, experiencing times of despair, discouragement, and famine, but His perfect, persistent love was always there. At God's appointed time He gave them remarkable child promised. We all have these anxious moments as we wait for God to act. He understands, He cares, and He loves us. His plans are entirely for our good, all for the glory of His holy name. "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' says the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11 AB).

We must move forward in accordance with God's loving will and His perfect plan. This means leaving hindrances from the past behind so we can possess the wonderful future that God intends for us.

From the start, God planned our progression in life. The Almighty knows the end from the beginning and has prepared a plan that will allow us to flourish in all areas of our lives. This loving God is with us everywhere at all times. He will never leave us, because His love is perfect and persistent.

The Bible says, "Do not remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive or know it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:18–19 AB).

God wants us to leave behind anything from the past that might keep us from moving forward. If we follow this strategy, we can focus on the new things that God is doing in our lives. We can move forward in harmony with God's perfect plan for our future. With perseverance we will procure all that He has put in place for us in

Youth for God

From childhood, many have separated themselves from others, trusting completely in God's love and living in obedience to His will. Whatever the conditions or the consequences, they have absolute faith in God and in His perfect, persistent love for all people.

Young Joseph had dream that earned him the hatred and envy of his brothers, who sold him into slavery. He kept his focus and waited on God's love and promises with total dedication in the face of persecution and unjust treatment. God's love was always there, preserving him until he moved from prison to palace.

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. Then Joseph shaved himself, changed his clothes, and made himself presentable; then he came into Pharaoh's presence ... And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all these, there is nobody as intelligent and discreet and understanding and wise as you are. You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word [with reverence, submission, and obedience]. Only in matters of the throne will I be greater than you are."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand ... He made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and officials cried before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:14, 39–43 AB)

Joseph appeared as a prisoner and within hours became prime minister. Despite slavery, trials, temptations, injustice, and imprisonment, Joseph's dream came to pass at last. Delay is not denial where God is concerned.

Joseph put all his troubles behind him where they belonged. He moved forward, keeping his focus on God's love, which had won him his new position as second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. He forgave his brethren and supplied his family with provisions during a severe famine. The God who planned this outcome for Joseph is still the same today. He is the unchanged changer of lives, faithful and merciful. He remains our rock. As we continue to serve Him, He will elevate us to the standard He has planned for us by His grace and His perfect, persistent love.

Let us dare our faithful, loving God to dream big; we cannot in our dreams exceed what He has in store for us.

Let us dare to believe, to receive, and to declare the good things God will give us, recognizing that they serve His loving purpose.

Let us dare in Christ's name to dialogue with our God, offering ardent prayer that we will be in accord with His perfect plans.

Let us dare with God's grace to act in accordance with His strategic design for us by His power.

Let us dare to depend on our caring God, relaxing completely in the knowledge of His primacy.

Let us dare to devote our all to adoring and defending God, acknowledging His preeminence.

Let us accept God's dream for us, securing this blessing with continual prayer. Let us discuss with God the resources needed to implement the dream, accepting His divine guidance. Finally, let us not forget to praise our loving God in everything giving Him all the glory.

We can plan great things like God Himself plans for us; let us use our time and energy to pursue blessings for ourselves and for others so that we may please God.

We should use all the resources at our disposal to fulfill God's purpose for our lives. We should pardon others' mistakes as Joseph forgave his brethren and move forward. It's important that we forgive ourselves as well. We shouldn't stagnate in self-condemnation or in fear of others' judgment. We can manage our mistakes, pardon ourselves, and move forward with God's loving encouragement and assurance of mercy.

God loves us dearly and trusts us to have abiding faith in Him. We can do all things with God's perfect, persistent love and with the power He has invested in us. We should not be too tough on ourselves when God Himself forgives us and entrusts us with many things.

We can keep our dreams in sight by maintaining a positive outlook and a determination to seek the prize set before us. God bestows His inspirational guidance and His unlimited blessings on us as we move ever closer to Him. Trading our everything for more of God's loving way, wisdom, word, will and so on in our life. We can keep advancing forward by His glorious grace, always focused on God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. God will make all things beautiful in His own time, and we can be sure that all will be well in Jesus's name.

Devoted David

The shepherd boy David killed Goliath by relying on God and His perfect, persistent love. David rejected the reproach of the Philistine army headed by the giant Goliath. God empowered the courageous lad, who chose to give glory to God and won a victory for the Israelites with the Almighty on his side.