For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). There is no difference between the God’s word and God’s love – we abide in the Christ sent by God, the Christ being God whom abides in us – the word written in our hearts is the Christ dwelling in us and is the love sent by God to rescue us. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment (1 John 3:22-23). Love is the only thing the scriptures tell us fulfills all the law and the prophets. Jesus, the Christ we dwell in whom dwells in us, fulfilled the law and the prophets – Jesus is the word and the love that dwells in us and whom we dwell in.
“When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matthew 27:59-60). Jesus is that seed “which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:2-4). That is a seed sown and a harvest received. Jesus planted as a dead man and coming up as the resurrection of the dead. Praise God!
Yes Paul does speak in 2 Corinthians of a giving that sows seed; he was writing to those who already promised a gift, to be mindful of following through with a cheerful heart. When we give our time, services, monies, or whatever we give out of the cheerful heart (out of the love grown up in us by a seed of love – the love sent by God to rescue the world – Jesus, delivered to us by the Holy Spirit) the seed planted is love (not the item that was needful and given out of love – given from a cheerful heart). One day I was pacing and praying and God asked me why I loved Him. I started listing all the things He has done for me, starting at the cross. God said, “No! Those things are not why you love Me. You love Me because I overfilled you with love and your love to Me is a return on My investment. You love Me because you have love in you. Those things are how I revealed my love to you; they are not why you love me.” The offering God has sown into my heart is love, and love is what is growing. The offerings I give, wherever I give them, are offerings of love. The things are how the love is revealed to the eyes that do not see the spirit of the gift.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17). God sent a revelation of His love to give us life and not to condemn. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22). Moreover love fulfills (fully fills – leaving no space unfilled) all the law and the prophets. God corrects (makes a change of direction) the son whom He loves. What I sow in love can be revealed as correction in love as well as other gifts and promises of God’s love revealed to me. What is sown and what is harvested is love. The word of God delivered to me by the Holy Spirit is a seed of love – God is love.
© 2011, Tim D. Coulter Sr.