The Love of God

What is love? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as: 1. strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties or 2. warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion. However, true love is far more than this. In fact, true love can hardly be defined. It is so complex, so indescribable, so holy - it is hard for a mortal human being to define. Webster did a fine job but didn't get the whole picture.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, defined love as this: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13 NIV) Love isn't just your typical gooey looks, butterflies in your stomach deal. Love is the gutwrenching feeling you get when you die for someone you love. Love is when you are willing to do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g for the other person. Love is when you forsake your own hopes and desires to accomplish the will of someone else. And the greatest example of love came from the very person who defined it. Jesus Christ subjected himself to incredibly painful torture and death on a cross. For us. For you. For me. I am not talking about a few lashes on the back. If any of you have seen The Passion of the Christ, you see man's glimpse of the torture. It is unspeakable.
Now we are talking the Creator of the universe. The Alpha and Omega. The One who set the stars in place. The One who has named every single star in every single galaxy. Why should He give His life for us? Because He loved us. He was willing to do whatever it took - no questions asked - to ensure that we would live with Him eternally. He didn't look for a quick and painless death. No! He experienced one of the worst ways to die in the history of this earth. All this to show us just how much He loves us. Love is so much more than a "warm attachment" as Webster says. True love - the love that God shows to us - is amazing. Words cannot describe how precious and pure it is.
Yet we still reject Him. As if He hasn't done enough already. And let me remind you that He did not have to do anything. He didn't even have to create us! But He did, and He loves us so unconditionally. One of my favorite hymns says,

"The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin.

Oh love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure, the saints' and angels' song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho' stretched from sky to sky.

Oh love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure, the saints' and angel's song."

Such beautiful words by Frederick M. Lehman. Even if man exhausted his every resource, we would not come a fraction closer to defining God's love. God loves you so much, and He is willing to do whatever, whatever, it takes to bring you into His fold. I have experienced only a portion of God's tremendous love for me, and let me tell you, there is no greater feeling.
And the miracle of this is that we don't need to earn God's love. We can experience it freely! All we need to do is put our trust and hope in Him. We need to surrender our every dream, our every hope, our every being to the power and love of God. Opening your heart to the Maker of the galaxies will change your life forever. I guarantee that if you do that... you will never regret it.