LOVE

IMPACT YOUTH NETWORK WEEKLY PUBLICATION

{IMPACT DIGEST}

LOVE

     In this article, you are going to learn what love is all about, but first, a story will be introduced to expound more on love. Hang on till the end while we go on this journey of who/what love is. May you see love differently after reading this in Jesus' name.

    There was once a rich man who took a great interest in a young girl who had nothing on her. The rich man showered the young girl with money, security, clothing, and the goodies one can ever imagine; he put her on payroll of three hundred thousand naira weekly (That's a whole lot of money!). The girl in return, did nothing to the man to deserve such a kind heart, but the man kept showering her with money. The girl woke up on one strange morning only to tell the man that she does not want the kind of life she is living with him anymore; she told him she does not want his money, his house, his security, and every other goodie the man had given her. The girl told the rich man that she was going to work in his house instead to earn her own money (Well, one would say she is not right with such a decision). After a few months, she got back her old look due to the stress of working. She could not go back to the life she used to live with the rich man because she chose the life she was living, and the man had been treating her like a boss would to an employee. One day, the man looked at her, took pity on her and told her that he loved her so much, and would not like to have a gulf between them. The rich man told the girl that he was going to make his eldest son take over her place and do all the work she was supposed to do, while she gets back to her usual place in his heart. (It is so shocking to believe that the rich man was going to trade his own eldest son for a strange poor girl)  Well, it happened exactly as the rich man wanted it; he gave her back the goodies she had once lost, and gave her direct access to him, unlike when she was working for him, and was treated like a mere employee. This is the end of the story of the rich man and the poor girl. 

The questions running through your mind now are: 

Why would the rich man trade his son for a strange girl?

What has the girl done to deserve such a kind act from the rich man?

Why did the rich Man's son agree to take the filthy position of the girl just to make her have a good life?

Why did the girl lose the opportunity at first?

The answers to the above questions are wrapped in just one answer, which is, no matter what we do or what we have done, God still loves us. Just like the rich man, God is willing to give man a second chance all over and over again. Just like the rich mans son did not object to take up the role of the poor girl, Jesus did not object to take away Man's filthiness (sins).

About two thousand years and fourty-two generations ago, God made a promise to Abraham based on his faith, a promise that came with many bonuses and packages in Genesis 15, but unfortunately, man threw it away.

After the wondrous and mighty works God had done in delivering the Israelites, using Moses, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to remain faithful to the covenant (signifying his covenant with Abraham). The Israelites said in Exodus 19:8, "…ALL that the Lord has said we will do. They thought they could obey all God had said or had to say by their works. Men thought their works could save them, but they were wrong because they were not perfect enough for God. They tried all they could to be holy, but they failed. Because of their insecurity and their filthiness, they could not touch Mount Sinai, neither could they climb it, then, there came some commandments that signaled the rejection of the covenant of faith through Abraham. Men tried to live by the law (commandment), but they could not. God used the law to bring man to the knowledge of who He really was to them. The law was introduced to show men that nothing can be achieved when they do not move closer to God.  Men were so blinded by the law that they believed God could only be found in the temple. Sin disguised under the law to the extent that everyone who was thought to be the best then failed at the law. 

After the mass failure of men, God, due to his love, wanted to bridge the gap between man and Himself; therefore, there came the WORD; there came JESUS (Yes, as it happened with the rich Man's son). Jesus came to bring us back to the Father and took us from the law which sin had used as a shield to Grace due to the coming of Jesus. Now, you can boldly say,

"Sin has no power over me for I am not under the law but under grace"
(Rom 6:14).

 As long as we believe that Jesus came to this world to die for our sins, that He was buried, and He resurrected on the third day, we can boldly say, 

"I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."

Jesus died for our sins, but the good news is that he lives forever. 

Jesus lives, and through his love, he has saved us from the chains of Addictions, Death,Sin and Hell. 

"Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13 

The surprising part of it all is that He called us his friends when we didn't even know him. What a great LOVE!

Now, you know that love is not a definition found in the dictionary because the dictionary itself cannot tell it all. LOVE is a mystery to the dictionary itself. Love is a person, and his name is Jesus.

 "FOR JESUS IS LOVE..."

Accept his love now by believing that he was sent to the world for your sins, he died, he was buried, and he resurrected on the third day, and he lives forever.

 Glory to God!