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Introduction

The love of God for mankind is revealed through the Holy Scriptures. “Love is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). It is the essence and the embodiment of God. Therefore, “God is love” (1Joh 4:8). It is this love of God that this newsletter seeks to discuss.

Demonstration of God´s love

The love of God is demonstrated by providing for the (w)holistic needs of His people (Isa 48:14, 20-21, Isa 62:9-12; Isa 63:3, 12). God had to give His only Son away in order to fully realized this purpose. He meets our needs by first liberating and regenerating the human spirit and offers them His free gift of salvation.

God’s love for the sinful world

The love of God is for humanity. He loves all people regardless of their identities or faiths. We read that: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Joh 3:16). The ‘world’ here refers to the people in the world but not to the physical or the cosmic world. God sacrificed His only beloved Son so that He could redeem the fallen human race. This tells of the extent of God’s love for mankind.

The measure of God´s love

The love of Christ is described as a great one. It is established that God loves us with His great love because when we were even dead in our sins, He quickened us together with Christ (Eph 2:4-5). According to John, the love of Christ is not only great but greater. He writes that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Joh 15:13).

Dying for enemies

The love of God is not shown only to the good people of God but also to the enemies of Christ. It is written:

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8).

Christ did not come to die for us because we were righteous, but because we were sinners and rebellious people. In fact, we were dead in sins and in trespasses (Eph 2:1). Christ was sent to redeem mankind and be the propitiation for our sins. It was God who first loved us but not that we loved Him (1Joh 4:10). This love of God is calling all people unto repentance and fellowship with Christ.

God still loves You

You might have gone astray from God as a believer, but the heart of God continues to yearn for your return to Him. He says:

“They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD” (Jer 3:1).

It does not matter how far you have disgraced and polluted yourself, God is crying out after you. All hope is not lost. God has not become tired of you. He still loves you. He is asking you to come back and He will welcome you. God is pleading: ” Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings..” (Jer 3:22).

Love beyond knowledge 

When the Apostle considers the tender mercies of God and how He continues to love the vilest offender, he becomes amazed. He prays that believers would be able to comprehend with all saints, the breadth, and length, depth, and height and to know such love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:18-19).

The love of God is beyond human understanding because it is so deep, thoughtless, and reckless. God is love but He would punish the ungodly in the lake of fire if they persistently reject His offer of love, and repent from their evil ways.

Conclusion

The love of God transcends human understanding because He loves His enemies, the backsliding, as well as the good people. He shows His love to all people. Come to Christ today and your life would be spared and restored.

Prayer: May God bless you and cause you to understand His love for you, today and evermore. AMEN!

Introduction

In this thesis, the parable of the good Samaritan is discussed. The basis of the parable and its significance are detailed.

The Basis of the Parable

Jesus´ purpose for giving this parable is to explain who a man´s neighbor is. As could be read from the scripture below:

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” (Luk 10:25-27).

So, a proper understanding of who a person´s neighbor is, and loving him or her as oneself is a key requirement, if one wants to see the Kingdom of God. The Lawyer asked to know who is called a neighbor (Luk 10:29). Jesus replied to him by giving the parable (read Luk 10: 30-35).

The Parable

According to the Bible, armed robbers had attacked a man (who was a Jew) and had left him almost dead in the way. A priest, who was a fellow Jew, went down the same way but seeing the dying man, refused to attend to him. He feared that he would be impure by touching the man. Similarly, A Levite (also a Jew) seeing the wounded man, and wishing to avoid defilement, ignored him. Though he went and looked on him and left him there. It was a Samaritan who got down from his donkey and took care of the dying man and sent him to the nearest health center for treatment.

A question to the Lawyer is, so, which of these three, do you think, was neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? (Luk 10:36). His answer is, “The one doing the deed of mercy to him” (Luk 10:37). Jesus, therefore, charged him to go and do likewise (Luk 10:37).

How could a Samaritan be a neighbor to the Jew? The Lawyer was not pleased with the whole scenario. The reasons are that the Jews saw their fellow Jews as their neighbors (Lev 19:18, Luk 10:29), but not people like the Samaritans because:

• Samaritans were persons from whom a Jew had no right to expect any help or support, because of the enmity which existed between them.
• The Samaritans were descendants of those who had not been deported or killed in the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C. (2Ki 17:23-40). These survivors had intermarried with the heathen colonists brought in from Babylonia by the Assyrian conquerors. So these people were looked upon as unclean traitors to Jewish blood (.
• The Samaritans were seen as strangers (Luk 17:11-18) and not part of the Commonwealth of Israel.
• Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (Joh 4:9)
• Samaritans were considered to have demons (Joh 8:48).

How do we go and do the same as the Samaritan did? We may do this by accepting people who are different from us. Accept and help other people that you do not like. Examples include people of other faiths and the homosexuals.

If you are to love your enemies (Matt 5:44) who are looking to see your downfall, who would be happy to see you and your family impoverished and destroyed, Then what about that homosexual who treats your diseases, your dentists? The teacher who teaches you knowledge in school? He or she may be your chef, bus driver, the military officer who defends and protect you against external aggression, the police officer who protects you day and night. The immigration officer who gave you your visa and resident permit, the minister who protects the right of the immigrants, and the vulnerable, and so on?

Are we not supposed to love them and pray for them? I do not have any scriptural basis to justify homosexuality as an act of righteousness. Yes, it is a sin as far as I know, for the Bible condemns it (Lev 18:22, Rom 1:25-28, 1Co 6:9, 1Ti 1:9-10) but they are our neighbors. They deserve to be respected and treated with dignity just as any other person.

Conclusion

This parable of Jesus is not given just to amuse believers. It is a call to remove hatred from our hearts and begin to accept and love all people just as we do love ourselves.

Prayer: Help us, Dear Lord, to love all people as we love ourselves. In the name of Jesus Christ.