Love

By Nate Heater

“The Love of Jesus is so wonderful!
The Love of Jesus is so wonderful!
…Cause He died for me!
So high…you can’t get over it!
So low…you can’t get under it!
So wide…you can’t get ‘round it!
Oh…wonderful love!”

These are simple words, sung in Bible clubs across Northern Ireland throughout the year, but they speak of a deep truth. When Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that “The fruit of the Spirit is love…”, it is this simplicity and enormity that he has in mind. What the Spirit of God is working out in us is not mere affection, nor some just-better-than-those-around-us love. He is working out in us the love of Christ, that we would learn to love others as Jesus did.

As the song conveys, this is no insignificant thing – Jesus’ love is supernatural love: so high, so low, so wide, inescapable and inexhaustible. The love of Jesus for you took Him from heaven to a stable, and from that stable to a cross, and it has not ceased now that He sits again in heaven. It cannot be gotten ‘round, and it won’t run out. In John 13:1, we’re told that “when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”  

Gloriously, this is the love of Christ towards you and I. In our sin, as enemies of God, we were loved. When we stumble, we are loved. When we don’t love God or others well…we are still loved with a faithful, gracious, sacrificial love that guarantees God’s mercy towards us, that assures us of His working for good on our behalf in all circumstances and secures our future.

Challengingly, this is also the love that we are called to live out as followers of Christ. A few pages on, in John 15:12,13, Jesus tells us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”. Loving like Jesus, loving sacrificially, mercifully, graciously, forgivingly…that’s a hard thing. It requires effort and faithfulness on our part – but, ultimately (and wonderfully), it is the Spirit of Christ who is accomplishing this in us, not our own effort. It is His strength, His power, and His faithfulness that is transforming us from selfish sinners to loving saints, as we partner with Him and offer up our lives as living sacrifices, one day and one decision at a time. 

If we glance back at the previous verses in Galatians 5, we see all the things that this love isn’t – selfish, harmful, harsh, and jealous. These tendencies are what the Spirit helps our hearts turn from as we follow Christ day by day. As you serve this summer, remind yourself of Jesus’ love towards you, and ask the Spirit to equip you to love others as Jesus does – He will!

Suggested reading to help you dig deeper into this topic during the week:

Monday: Read Psalm 36

1. List the imagery describing the love of God in these verses. Which one(s) stand out to you? Why?
2. How does the love of God help us have hope and joy even amidst opposition or difficulty?

Tuesday: Read Philippians 2:1-11

1. What motivated Jesus’ love towards us?
2. How might Jesus’ example (and motivation) encourage us as we strive to love others?

Wednesday: Read Romans 5:1-11

1. What are some of the benefits of God’s love towards us listed in this passage?
2. What might love towards ‘enemies’ look like for us?

Thursday: Read 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13

1. Why is love essential to anything we do as followers of Christ?
2. How does Jesus display the attributes of love listed in verses 4-7?
3. How does love help us bear, believe, hope, and endure all things?

Friday: Read Deuteronomy 4:32-40

1. What ways did God display His love towards Israel, as recorded in this passage?
2. How does God’s love towards us encourage and strengthen us to obey and follow Him, even when it’s costly or difficult?