Sunday, December 8, 2024 - How to Experience a Love that Transforms Your Life - Pastor Paul Vallee

Love is the most powerful motivating factor in bringing grace to our world. John is writing to explain the true nature of being a child of God. He writes in 1 John that God’s children not only renounce sin and become obedient to His Word but reject the ways and values of a society devoid of God’s motivating love in their lives. The greatest identity marker of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ is love. In 1 John 4:8, 16, John states that God is love. In other words, God is the one that defines for us what love is. He is the source and greatest model of what love is. The greatest longing in the human heart is to experience a love that embraces us unconditionally. Nicky Gumbel stated it so succinctly in a devotional reading. “When you really know God’s love for you, your life is transformed.” The first commandment that God gives us is that we love Him, which empowers us to love others. These two commandments reflect the essence of our purpose on earth. When we love, we are most like God. Divine love can only be expressed to others upon experiencing it personally ourselves. To experience God’s love then shapes our lives.   Nicky Gumbel shared a question by Alex Buchanan, a fellow pastor, that was directed to him but is a question that we need to consider. “Do you and I believe that God approves of us?” Nicky’s response is probably similar to what most of us would say. “Actually, I really struggle with that because I know things about myself that I find difficult to believe that God approves of me.’ Buchanan’s response is what each of us needs to hear. ‘We all struggle with things about ourselves, but God wants us to know that he approves of us, as his followers. He wants us to know he loves us ‘unconditionally,’ ‘wholeheartedly,’ and ‘continually.’”    In 1 John 4:7-21, John explains the nature of a love that will transform our lives.