The Bible tells us that God is love.
He so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son so that every human being who believed in Him would be saved and have everlasting life.
His longing is that people will discover the real meaning of life through the act of love He committed on the cross of Calvary.
This is the core message of the Bible portraying Jesus Christ as God incarnate walking the face of the earth, reconciling men and women of all nations through His death and resurrection back to Himself.
Jesus practically showed the Father’s love to the world by healing, helping, restoring and forgiving people.
Love was a tangible, measurable value in his life.
The Bible teaches us that we don’t know Jesus after the flesh anymore. He is not walking on this earth as a human being representing the Father of love as when He was in human form. He is now living within every believer.
Paul describes it aptly: I do not live anymore – it is Christ living in me (Galatians 2:20).
Christ in us represents the Father through us as his daughters and sons.
The Bible goes so far as to say that if we say we love God, whom we cannot see, but hate our sister and brother, whom we can see, we are liars and there is no truth in us.
Therefore, you cannot be a believer if you hate your brother and sister – no matter what race, tribe or nationality they may be.
We can religiously practise all the right values by going to church, reading the Bible, praying and being active within the church – but without love, we are like a noisy gong or a clanging bell. Godly love is motivated by the Spirit within us.
We cannot produce it by humanistic means. It is something that must be activated by God through his Spirit.
I believe that the world needs to see God’s love in action, and the only way they are going to see and experience his love is through you and me. Love – unconditional love for everyone – can change our world.
Love without limitations, without preference of the colour of your skin, your status, your bank account, the level of your education.
Love rooted in the Father’s heart.) Past. Fansie Botes is of the Deo Doxa church in Welkom.
