Probably the best known verse in the Bible is John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
And the Bible is full of other passages that talk about God's love. One of the best "pictures" of His love for us is given in Jesus's parable of the prodigal son. In that story, the father is rejoicing and delighting in his lost son, who's come home.
Of course, God's ultimate love for us was shown at the cross, where Jesus died for the sins of the world.
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
But the Bible not only talks about God's love for us; it also stresses that we are to love. When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37, 39The Lutheran Confessions break the Ten Commandments down into two parts - those commandments about loving God and those commandments about loving one's neighbor. I like how the Confessions give specific examples of how a person can keep each commandment, to love his neighbor, in a positive manner.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
For about six months, I've been reading and studying the book Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson. Briefly, the book covers how our minds are both logical/reasoning and emotional/heart, and that we should renew and integrate our minds so that all our thinking (both reason and emotion) moves to thinking like the Lord.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Romans 12:2a
Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11
The prayer for the Psalm 86 verse might be something like this: Give me understanding and wisdom, so that my reason and emotion work together and move towards your truth.
Several months ago, when I couldn't sleep one night, it was around 2am, I got up and started reading the last chapter of that book. The section happened to be on the mind, community and love. First Corinthians 13, the chapter on love, was the passage under discussion.
Several pages into that discussion, the idea of developing love, by being known, was introduced. God both knows us and loves us.
Then I read, "We are to be people who are as fully known by each other as possible."
Maybe because it was the early morning hours, and my brain was open to thought, but I had a sudden understanding and grasp on this topic and on life. Unfortunately, I don't remember my thinking!
But I did write in the book - The relationships are the work.
I run a small thrift store at my church. And I've learned that it's not about selling items. It's about the people. I have volunteers who know and care for each other. I have shoppers who talk with me, and talk with each other. It's about people connecting, knowing one another, and loving. The relationships are the work.
And it's not just in a church environment that this is true. I also learned while in the Marine Corps that there's something in each person to love and to value, that it's worth getting to know people.
I think our greatest hardships and our greatest joys happen in the context of our relationships.
We can picture all our work and doings each day as being huge platforms or stages that enable us to learn how to love, to know others, and to be known by them. The relationships are the work, no matter what the backdrop is.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 1 John 3:1
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God...No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:7,12
