Shining the Light of God’s Love

By: Pastor David A. Adeboye

It is important to state that the true love was defined by God through the gift of His son Jesus Christ to the world. This is the greatest demonstration of love to mankind and it is the key to the salvation of the world.

John 3 v. 16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. NIV

Apostle John (the Apostle of love as he is widely called), gave us a lot of information about true brotherly love in both his Gospel and Epistles. With true conviction and practical experience in his relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ who demonstrated true love, Apostle John gave us an insight into God’s heart about love and the true evidence of love in any man’s life.

I John 3 v. 16-17 says “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”. NIV

We should always remember that we have an obligation from God to shine the light of His love through our ways of life everywhere we go, this is one major way of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world around us and making our brothers and sisters know that we have a true relationship with Him. We should also know that the rewards of such acts of love are not here on earth, they are not what any man or woman can pay back, they are not what even the people that we were privileged to show His true love to can pay back to us. Most of the time, we Christians do not have problem in demonstrating God’s love by sharing all that we have with our sisters and brothers, but the problem is in our expectation that the brothers and sisters we showed love to, should return the same act of love when we need them most or show some appreciation for the love we bestowed on them.

Brethren, our reward is in heaven with the Father whose love we showed to others. Remember, what can we ourselves do to reward our Lord Jesus Christ who laid his life down for our sins and still cares for us even when we disobey him, when we disappoint him and when we refuse to show back the same love he showed to us because of the cares and worries of life. He surely kept himself in the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us that we may come to perfection in love. Oh, what a great love he had for us!

As we go in this New Year 2015, let us remember to live in love and shine the light of God’s love to people around us through our acts and conducts. May the God of love give us GRACE to shine His Love to the world around us this New Year. Happy New Year to you all!