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Monday: Understanding God’s Love — 12 Comments

  1. The Story in Genesis 22:1-13 illustrates the love God has for us, though when God had to sacrifice His Son there was no one to call it off at the last second, and God had to let His Son die. Some believe as well as illustrating God's self-sacrificing love, Abraham was also told to sacrifice his son as a way to prove his faith obedience.

    "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6 NKJV

    "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Genesis 26:5

    "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." Hebrews 11:17-19 NKJV

    Therefore this story illustrates the love Abraham had for God in obeying Him,and how his love, faith and belief in God were all demonstrated through obedience. It also tells us about the love God has for us in giving up His only Son.

    What modern day illustrations have you seen of love, faith, and sacrificial obedience?

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  2. As we study these lessons, it is most helpful to ask ourselves, "How does this lesson relate to the quarterly topic?"

    In this case, it seems to me that the author is laying the foundation that we should always interpret prophecy through the lens of God's love for humanity.

    Please look for the connection of each day's lesson to the subject of the quarter before you post. That way we should be able to have helpful discussions regarding "Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy."

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  3. How does the “suffering world”, which is ravaged from, sickness, hunger, war, pain, death, injustice, deprivation, and loss start to understand God’s love? How does the “unchurched” world understand God’s love when He commands, “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3). Even the “churched” world at times asks questions, “Where was God’s love when……?”, “Does God care when I am going ……?”. When the present seems sweet and smoothing sailing, it is easy to see how prophecy reveal God’s love and compassion.

    Understanding God’s love requires strong faith. How can one see God wiping tears from our eyes (Revelation 21:4) if all that we know is pain, sorrow, mourning and crying? At times we may not see or understand God’s love in this life, but by faith we can see it in the earth made new. We might not feel God’s comfort now, but the sure Word of God says that God will dwell among us (Revelation 21:3) and we shall be His people. This is the hope and comfort we are looking to. By faith we receive the prophetic promises and love of God. We may not feel or understand God’s love in this life, like Abraham who lived in tents in the promised land for he was looking for a city by faith whose maker is God Himself. This world is strange indeed, we are nothing but strangers!

    “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9 -11, NIV).

    (16)
  4. "The Blanket of First Love"

    Amos, an old man with a frail frame but a heart full of grace, lived quietly with his son Jonas, daughter-in-law Liya, and grandson Mikael. Though he owned little, he always gave — his time, his wisdom, his gentle smile. Even when he was overlooked or forgotten, he never complained. He had loved them long before they could ever repay him, and he never stopped.

    One evening, food ran low, and tensions ran high. Jonas sighed, “We have nothing left to give him.” But Mikael quietly picked up Amos’s old, torn blanket and whispered, “He gave to us first even when he had nothing. Maybe what he needs now… is not food or comfort, but love.” His words softened their hearts, and for the first time in a long while, they saw Amos not as a burden — but as the one who had loved them sacrificially all along even when Jonas was young and not able to live by himself.

    They brought him to the warmest room, sat beside him, and held his hand. No gifts, no words — just presence, honor, and love. In that moment, they understood: true love is not repaid with things, but with love returned. Just like God — who loved us first, not because we deserved it, but because He is love.“He loved us first” (1 John 4:19):

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    • Wow, thank you so much brother Daniel, this brought tears to my eyes. As I live with my Mom and provide for her day in and day out, the burden of her memory loss and anxiety can feel heavy. This sweet story is just like mine in that I have so many memories of how She has been there for me throughout my life, and you have reminded me that what She needs most from day to day is not a bath or a snack but the patience and grace and honor of true love! "God, please soften the soil of my heart and fill me with Your Love, not because I deserve it but because You love me and my Mom", is my prayer.

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  5. Obedience and humility to me fit into the description of „sacrifice“.
    Obedience to God means I chose to sacrifice whatever seems personal and essential to me: one example is found in Romans 12:1
    Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

    Another example is time and effort sacrificed in favor of others. While we do that I am aware that as Paul mentioned in Phil 3: 7
    But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

    Regarding humility, C.S. Lewis once said: „ Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it‘s thinking of yourself less“ which means we seek to love others sacrificially without devaluing ourselves. This of course contradicts with the general world view and sometimes is not as convenient to us either.

    Are we always willing as sincere Christians to deny ourselves and take up our cross to come after Him ?
    Read Mathew 16:24

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  6. Real love renounces self. And that's what God does because He loves creatures who choose not to love back. We don't understand the real meaning of love because we think love should first be self-satisfying. Our best chance to learn what true love is is nailed on a cross.

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  7. Love is a word that is easily banded about today in a myriad of circumstances. However, id we are to love as God loves then it can't be inward looking or only offered to close friends and family.

    "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another"!!!

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  8. This lesson teaches us how our sinful nature has bent us toward selfishness. For us, love often means what we can get, not what we can give but God’s love is the opposite. It is outward, costly and unconditional; it’s about trust, obedience, and ultimate provision.

    Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac foreshadows God’s ultimate act of love, giving His only Son for humanity (John 3:16). Abraham trusted God so deeply that he believed He could raise Isaac from the dead.

    While this kind of love isn’t natural for us due to our sinful nature, we can strive to embody this love through faith and reliance on God’s transformative power.

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  9. Thank you to all my brothers and sisters for your comments . Love is something we should live with. We don’t deserve it from God, because we failed everyday but still love us. Let’s love others even they don’t love us back, has God did for us. The love of God in humans perspective we can’t understand it. John 3:16 is more than we think.

    (6)
  10. In our broken, fallen state, we default to selfishness and exhibit all the wrong expressions, and manifestations of "love."

    Apart from being filled with the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for humans to exhibit or to understand God's love. Love isn't a DIY project, it's God putting his arm over your shoulder saying, "let's do this together!"

    (6)
  11. The following has a great wealth of understanding of God's love. Yes, we can understand Gods love from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 50:26, even though it is not written word “love”. Ok example Genesis 1 speaking of creation all the way to Joseph death in the last part of Genesis 50. Though with understanding concepts we pick certain methods such as first mentioned. With open minds we gain knowledge we had not understood before. Yet who gives us open minds, unto better understanding of Bible prophecy, the Holy Spirit. Yes, you could say He gives us a deeper understanding of God's love. He gives us not only the pieces to make the puzzle a picture of His love, also He gives us the last few pieces, and the last one, to form a complete picture.

    Here is my favorite quote of God's love. No, I am not going down to buy a pearl, you must understand a pearl is a symbol which is formulated into a concept, and yes when you wear it on your finger, it is an image, I do believe.

    Now the quote.

    The parable of the merchantman seeking goodly pearls has a double significance: it applies not only to men as seeking the kingdom of heaven, but to Christ as seeking His lost inheritance. Christ, the heavenly merchantman seeking goodly pearls, saw in lost humanity the pearl of price. In man, defiled and ruined by sin, He saw the possibilities of redemption. Hearts that have been the battleground of the conflict with Satan, and that have been rescued by the power of love, are more precious to the Redeemer than are those who have never fallen. God looked upon humanity, not as vile and worthless; He looked upon it in Christ, saw it as it might become through redeeming love. He collected all the riches of the universe, and laid them down in order to buy the pearl. And Jesus, having found it, resets it in His own diadem. “For they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land.” Zechariah 9:16. “They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels.” Malachi 3:17. . Christ Object Lessons 118.2.

    Yes, I do believe that understanding God love does bring us to a better understanding of Bible Prophecy, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 48:14.

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