How Does God’s Love Change Us
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (1 John 2:3) We experience the Lord’s love and his power in our life when we obey his commands and pray for his power in us to fulfill his commands. When we obey his commands, we are reflecting his love to others, and the more love we reflect the more love he puts into our hearts. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7) The more love we have in our hearts, the more we know God and his love for us.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) The more love we have in our hearts, the more faith we will have in the Lord, because we have experienced his love and power in our life. The more we experience the Lord’s love in our hearts, the more faith we will have.
If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15) God is molding us to conform to the image of his Son with a heart of love, and obeying his commands becomes natural and desirable to us. The Bible is no longer a rule book. It is a book that describes our new character, the character that reflects Christ. This is a blessing because love changes us to naturally obey the Lord’s divine good, pleasing, and perfect will.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The indwelling Holy Spirit can supply our soul with the Lord’s love and we reflect his love through the remaining fruit. The more love we have in our hearts the more experience peace and joy. We go through life with love, peace, and joy filling our hearts from the indwelling Spirit, even when things in life are difficult. The peace and joy are supported by our faith, and our faith is built on a foundation of love. With our hearts filled with love, peace, and joy, it has a positive effect on our body because we overcome Satan’s fear, anger, and unforgiveness which are toxic to our health.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:9) Love moves our focus from self to God and others, increasing the love in our hearts causing us to hate sin. The more love we have in our hearts the more we hate sin. Love enables us to overcome temptations from Satan.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. (1 John 4:18) God’s love in our hearts naturally drives out fear. Love increases our desire to be with the Lord, making us eternally minded, and we realize we are temporary ambassadors for Christ in a foreign land.
Today, live with your heart filled with God’s love and experience the peace and joy from the Spirit. Reflect the Lord’s love to others and experience God’s pleasure in our soul. Live this day to the fullest in Christ.
Prayer: Lord, fill my heart with your love as I reflect your love to the world. Guide me in the Spirit today to do your will with my soul filled with peace and joy. In Jesus name, Amen