Love Can Be Observed

Paul appealed to the Lord to reveal the sacred subjective knowledge of His love to the Church (Ephesians 3:14-20). Thank God for the call to experience God’s love. Paul also appealed to the believers to behold and believe in God’s love based upon objective evidence.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time the Messiah died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, the Messiah died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

The word “demonstrate” indicates something similar to  a scientific proof. God demonstrated His love. He proved it. How? At Calvary. For those who believe the Biblical testimony, the fact that God loves us more than life itself is unassailable.

Called to walk in the light of this word, we are to meditate upon the reality of His love.

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. (Psalm 119:97)

In the light of this reality we are called to offer thanksgiving to the God who redeemed us.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Subjective knowledge … objective knowledge. What should we emphasize? Both experience and evidence are important.

The experience of God is to lead us to the Scriptures God gave. The experience is to be interpreted by the believer through meditation on the Word. Our minds are to be renewed.

The disciple is called to study the reality of God’s love manifest in the Gospel. The result of that study is that the exegesis leads to faith. Living faith opens the door to experience.

Subjective experience is intended to lead us to God’s objective word. God’s objective word is to lead us to subjective experience.

Our initial discipleship is initiated when, hearing the voice of the Lord, we believe the Gospel.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:25)

 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)

When we believe the Gospel we are appropriating the news of God’s love and are applying it to ourselves.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time the Messiah died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, the Messiah died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

We are to believe the good news: God really does love us.

Or on Kindle

Also, David wrote a book about God’s love for the Jewish People called, For the Sake of the Fathers

Check out David’s new worship album, Looking for a City