Literature Ministries International


[ return to web page ]

June 18, 2019

Make text bigger | Make text smaller
Behold What Manner of Love

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" 1 John 3:1

Of all the wonderful characteristics that are given to us by God, there are none more glorious, more comprehensive, and more inclusive than the love of God. To meditate upon the infinite, unconditional love of God causes us to be lost in the wonder of it all. We cannot comprehend the fathomless depths to which His love goes, nor the boundless reaches to which it extends. How can man understand the greatness of God's love, who is at enmity with God, and has no time for God, or thought of God? Man is an enemy of all that God is. He spurned His love, rejected His grace, refused His mercy, and crucified His son. Natural man cannot understand such love, because God's love is supernatural. Only God can love in such a manner, because GOD IS LOVE.

John says, "Behold, what MANNER OF LOVE the Father hath bestowed on us." The psalmist, overwhelmed by God's love, cries out, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." He proceeds to list those uppermost on His heart. "Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those that fear him. Praise the Lord, O my soul!" (Psalm 103). This is in part a measure of the manner of love that the Father has bestowed on us.

It is unmerited, unconditional love, a love beyond our comprehension...a love that reaches to the uttermost sinner...a love that cannot fail...a love that will transform our lives...a love that reconciles us to God and makes us accepted in the Beloved...a love that is eternal and everlasting! This is but a glimpse of the "manner of love" that the Father has bestowed on us.

Paul, lost in the magnitude of God's love, says, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Then John adds, "In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." This is the MANNER OF LOVE THE FATHER HAS BESTOWED ON US!

Oh,that we might respond to His infinite condescending love without reservation, and devote our hearts and lives to the praise of His glory. May our lives magnify Him as He manifests His love through us. Praise His holy name!

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.


This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2019-06-18


Dare to Trust emailed to you!

To have Dare to Trust emailed directly to you each day, type your email address in the box below and click on "Subscribe me!" (You'll receive a follow-up email asking you to confirm your subscription request, and you must reply to that email before you will be subscribed to Dare to Trust.)



Dare to Trust Archive

January
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

February
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29  

March
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

April
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30  

May
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

June
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30  

July
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

August
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

September
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30  

October
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

November
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30  

December
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  

January
1   2