Love and Power

As we barrel headlong towards Valentine’s Day, popular misconceptions of love abound. Swarms of mythological cupids invade the candy aisles alongside stacks of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Florist shops burst out with red roses, and you can choose from hundreds of greeting card styles, from humorous to Victorian-style poetry. The syrupy sentimentalism is enough to send the nation into insulin shock. The message? Love is an emotion. It is something beyond our control. And love is feminine.

Ask a Christian brother or sister, “What comes to mind when you think of love?” The pictures stored in their memory are likely close to what was mentioned above. Not understanding love, many Christians are left powerless and easy prey for their adversary. You see, the love portrayed in the scriptures is different.

Of the many ways God describes Himself, this one way that appears two times—God is love. Love isn’t something that God has; it is what God is.

1 John 4:16

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

8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Of all the mental images of love you imagined, did you think Love is Power?

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

God is Love. God created. God is Love. Love created the heavens and the earth. That is powerful, very powerful. Love is the most potent force in the world. Some say knowledge is power, but the scriptures do not say God is knowledge. The scripture says that God is love.

We have not understood that love is power and only a force for good. No one can use love for evil. How do we come to know this love?

NIV 1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

This verse declares a law of cause and effect. God’s love is like a magnetizing force. A magnet turns other metals it touches into magnets. God is love, and He changes us, not by magnetizing us but by loving us. Come to know how He loved you by learning the stories telling what He was willing to do to win you back. Then, you will discover that power that no force on earth can overcome. This power that I’m talking about is love.

With love from above,

Taylor

www.wordcentered.com