Understanding that love is gift given, the next obvious step is to receive the gift and use it for the purpose it was given. As it is a choice to give love (as with any gift); it is also a choice to receive love. If we look at the creation in Genesis 1, we see that God created and then gave to mankind what He had created. God also offered mankind something eternal. Foolishly mankind did not receive all that God was giving. God gave His love and grace all throughout the scriptures we refer to as the Old Testament; again and again mankind chose to ignore the gifts. God set before mankind life and death and mankind chose death. Life is a gift God was giving, and mankind chose death. God then came and died for us, because we chose death, and again offered us the gift of life. The gift of love is our way to the gift of life. God loved the world and sent to us the Way; Jesus loved the Father and became our Way.

As in the beginning, God once again gave to mankind what He had created. God placed a seed into Seth and carefully watched as the seed passed from generation to generation. Once the time was right, Jesus was born of a woman. Jesus was perfect in His physical creation; He was what the Father created Him to be. Some say Jesus was not created because He has always been; but He was always Spirit and was created flesh. Jesus was a gift to the world, born out of the love of the Father. The world hated Him and killed Him. God took the Son, He gave us out of His love, back to Himself to be at His right hand. The gift of love is our strength. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand (Psalm 20:6).

Once again we have a choice; God has set before us love and hate and is asking is to choose love. We have God’s love given for us as a sacrifice; God’s love came to us in the form of Jesus and gave us a commandment to love. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34). “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off… But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it” (Deuteronomy 30:11 & 14). A commandment is given to be done – Jesus went to the Father and God sent to us His Holy Spirit to plant love in us, and to grow the fruit of love within us. Love is not a mystery to us, if we receive God’s love into our heart and confess it with our mouth.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17). We are identified as followers of Jesus by our love, and set apart by the truth. And Jesus is the Word of Truth sent by the Father’s love. God sent His love to be our Way. Our obedience to God is to be what He has created us to be; vessels of love from the potters hands. God is Spirit. He has filled us with His Spirit so others can come and draw from the vessel until they are also filled. The Spirit gives to us an understanding of love that we can receive no other way.

There is a feast at the table, and those God has invited to the feast are refusing to come. The feast is the fruit of the love of God. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Jesus’ fruit (food) is to do the will of God – to be Who God created Him to be in the flesh and to be Who He is in the Spirit. By choice those invited are refusing to eat from God’s table. He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know” (John 4:32). He was speaking to His followers when He made that statement. They had food in their hands, they had gone into the city and retrieved, but they did not have the understanding of God’s table and His food. It took witnessing God’s love on the Cross and His Holy Spirit coming for them to receive the gift of love that was given.

© 2010, Tim D. Coulter Sr.