The Love of God

 

“Amen, I say to you,

Unless you turn and become like children,

You will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

 See that you do not despise one of these little ones.

~Matthew 18: 3, 10

 

Many at times, we here about Jesus Christ conversation with Nicodemus and how he spoke to this scholar of the law of the Hebrew that “Unless you are born again, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven!”

In the above text, Jesus Christ is heard telling his disciples that unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

By simple arithmetic, the following deduction suffice:

If you are born again (a) = you will enter the Kingdom of heaven (Salvation)

If you turn and become like children (b) = you will enter the Kingdom of heaven (Salvation). That is;

 A = Salvation and

 B= salvation,

 Therefore a= b or in order words, for you to be born again, you must turn and become like children. How can I become like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of heaven?

Very simple; the hallmark of being a child is enshrined in the characteristics of humility, honesty and mercy or forgiveness!

In a way, God display affection for us like children do to one another and that is why Jesus Christ admonition today is a reflection of the godliness that reside in children and therefore the necessity for us to become like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of God!

 

Qualities of God’s Love

 

The love of God is an individual love!

The almighty God focuses on each an every one of us in a very peculiar, specific and unique fashion. He has undivided attention for each of us that can only be achievable through his divine providential care.

God cares for us as individuals, meaning, you are treated as if the entire world depends on you and no any other.

The challenges for the Christian who wants to inherit the Kingdom of God becomes, how are you open to treating people in a way that they are peculiarly loved by you?

This individual love was further enumerated in the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Seeking Shepherd.

In order for you to exercise individual love, as our God requires it, you must not discriminate against people on the basis of religion, status or orientation. You must also seek to love people, not waiting for them to love you first.

 

The love of God is a patient love!

 

 Like the good shepherd he is always waiting for us to change our attitude into that of a childlike behavior and open up freely to him. How are we ready to be patient with one another is the necessity of this kind of love!

If you are married, how often do you give your partner the chance to amend his or her ways?

If you are a child, how often do you tolerate your parents’ admonition or a sibling’s correction or even outside the home? Do you exercise that patient love enough by being open to welcome an offender?

If you are the leader, or the servant of all, patient love is crucial too, because it enables us to truly become the likeness and image of the living God.

The love of God is a seeking love!

God does not even wait for us to come to him after we commit yet another sin, before like the good shepherd he takes his torch at our darkest moment to search and find us! In order to be like a child, we too must be people that have a seeking love for humanity begin from within our family.

 

The love of God is a rejoicing love!

Rejoicing, being joyous and outmost happiness at what is good in us is another quality of God’s love for us. In the same way that God rejoices after he rescue us from sin, hatred and jealousy, anger, and greediness, we ought to also rejoice with our brethren whenever we become an instrument of a positive change in their life. The love of God in us will make it possible and easy for us to be glad when other people succeed in life!

 

The love of God is protection love!

Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm! That is the God that we serve and that is the depth of his love for us too. In our situation, do we exercise the same protection love for people we encounter in life?

When Jesus Christ challenges us to become like children, it is obvious that he is not telling us to go back into our mother’s womb, on the contrary, he is encouraging us to turn to him, the savior of the world and allow our hearts to be filled with humility, honesty and love, and most importantly to be free of envy, evil and hatred toward other people, especially those who feel might have hurt us or do not really look like us!

 

The love of God is Children-like love

 

The children-like love enables us to easily forgive and never intend to use negative experiences as retaliation tool in the future. A child careless about the color of someone skin, his or her educational background or any other forms of discriminatory yardstick as long as they all get along. The children-like love does not keep account of hurt; it is kind, simple and true!

If you claim to be a born again Christian and you cannot love your neighbor as God demand of you, please ask God for his grace to make your heart to become like that of a child, so that you can enter the kingdom of God, otherwise, vanity upon vanity is vanity.

 

Prayer

 

Dear heavenly Father,

Please help me to love as you would; to become like children who are honest, kind and humble of heart.

On my own I cannot do anything and therefore I ask for your grace, compassion and mercy to overcome my sin and become a better lover today.

May I become the instrument of your love and be able to bring peace, same love and prosperity to all that I will encounter today.

In Jesus Christ mighty name, I have prayed.

Amen!

 

Ref: Matthew 18, Psalm 105, and Ecclesiastes 1

Podeh2016