One of Jesus’ disciples, John, went on to write at length about the church as a people marked by Trinitarian love that is exemplified at the cross and empowered by the Spirit:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. … In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. We know that we live in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit. … Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. 1And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. … We love Him because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? We have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:7-21).
Furthermore, Jesus speaks of the reward of such a Spirit-empowered, Christlike life of love, saying, “If a man loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Difficult as it is to comprehend, those who love God in word and deed and life will experience the presence of God in a loving intimacy akin to a warm, safe home in which a family lives together.
God loves you fully, and always will. You cannot make him love you any more. And, nothing you can do will make him love you any less.
Furthermore, God the Holy Spirit lives in every Christian. He is there to heal our hurts, enlarge our hearts and give us an ever-increasing love for God and people. As a Christian, you have access to a supernatural eternal and limitless source of love that is for you and for you to share with others.
What do you think your life would be like today if God did not love you? {eoa}
Mark Driscoll is a Jesus-following, mission-leading, church-serving, people-loving, Bible-preaching pastor and the author of many books, including Spirit-Filled Jesus, which you can preorder here. He currently pastors The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his family. For all of pastor Mark Driscoll’s Bible teaching, please visit markdriscoll.org or download the app.
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Bill Wiese 
Chris Garcia 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
