Tina Turner posed the question, “What’s love got to do with it?”. Quite literally, everything. Love is the basic foundation of all creation.
As we enter into the third week of Advent, our theme is love. Love is something that we all talk about, we all need, and yet something that many struggle to give or receive. As we wait for the arrival of the Christ Child, I am reminded of Jesus’ words in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son”. That’s what love is all about – giving.
In this season of Christmas, we tend to focus on giving. The giving of gifts to friends and families. The giving of money to charities and churches. The giving of greetings such as Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. To love is to give.
One of the foundational doctrines of Christian theology is that God is love. He doesn’t just love people but he is the very essence of love. He is what love is and love is what God is. Because He is love, I want to propose to you the following:
We were created by Love, out of Love, to be loved so that we love.
We were created by love.
Since God is love and he created us, we were created by the very essence of Love Himself. Out of the very heart of love, humanity was created. Love created us in His image and likeness. Love created us out of his essence.
We were created out of love.
When two people desire to have a baby, it’s because they want to come together in their mutual love for each other and create another human being as an expression of that love. I realize that not all babies are conceived this way, but this is the ideal way for babies to come into the world. The idea is that babies are born into families that love them because they were created out of love.
What’s interesting to me is that before the baby is ever born, the soon-to-be parents love that child as if he or she had always been in their lives. From the moment they find out they are expecting love is instantaneously conceived for the growing baby. That baby is created from the love of its parents.
That’s how humanity was created, out of the love of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. We were created out of the Divine Love that exists between the Triune Godhead. What an amazing thought that they would take such a risk in creating human beings with free will that could, and would, reject them and some would even deny their existence.
And yet, they took the risk. That’s was love does. Love takes risks. The Word becoming flesh was a huge risk that the Triune God decided was worth it. We go after the things that we love. I believe we get that from our Heavenly Father who also goes after the things, the creation, that he loves.
We were created to be loved.
I know that some Christian’s theology is that after Adam and Eve sinned, God could no longer stand to look at man because humanity was now vile because of sin. I used to believe that because that’s what I was taught growing up.
I don’t see that in Jesus, and I don’t see that in the Father that Jesus revealed to us. In them, I see love pursuing the object of their affection. For God so loved the world that he gave his son. You were created to be loved. No matter how you ended up being conceived and born, you were created to be loved by God. No matter who loves you or who doesn’t, you were created to be loved by God.
The apostle Paul makes a daringly bold statement when he declares that NOTHING shall separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). There is absolutely nothing that you can do, nowhere that you can go, and nothing in this physical world, or the spiritual realm, that will separate you from God’s love for you.
You were created to be loved, and there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t sin your way out of being loved by God. You can’t blaspheme your way out of being loved by God. You can reject him and even deny he exists and you still will not stop being loved by him.
You were created to love.
Love is what every single person needs. Every. Single. Human. Being!
We all long for it, need it, desire it, want it, and will do almost anything to get it. While many have been hurt, rejected, and even traumatized to the point where they struggle to give or receive love, they still need it.
The hope of loving someone is that they will love you back. I believe this is God’s hope for you that you will love him back. Even if you choose not to, he will still love you because unconditional love is not based upon returned love. God’s unconditional love is based upon his very essence. He doesn’t simply love people; He is love.
Love is the basic foundation of creation. All things were created by, for, and through the Logos. Everything carries within its makeup the love of God. God loves his creation.
As we wait for the birth of the baby Jesus, let us reflect on how loved we are. Let us also be willing to return that love to our Father as well as to each other.
You were created by Love, out of Love, to be loved so that you can love.
Click here for the Thinking Allowed Corresponding Episode
