the love

The women that loved Jesus were first to the tomb, they were first to see the Lord. they weren’t better than the men, but I think their love was greater, and they always sought to be near Him. The disciple John also did that. John’s gospel is often called the love gospel, because he was noted as the disciple that loved Jesus, and knew he was loved by Jesus.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.    Matt 28:1

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.  And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.  Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.    Matt 28:5-10

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 1 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.  And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.    Mark 16:9-11

the men didn’t believe them. The Gospels record Jesus explaining how some love more than others~

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.  There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?  Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.    Luke 7:39-48

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.     Gal 5:6

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.    Romans 5:5

Jesus loves us with a pure and holy love, not sensual or fleshy, His love is so deep and wide that we cannot contain all of it. God is love. Some book I read once said, God doesn’t have love, He is Love. His is a pure love which is different than human love or human desire for another~

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.     Isaiah 63:7

…very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.     2 Sam 1:26

and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.    Isaiah 62:5

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,     Heb 7:26

when doing a word search in the bible on defiled I found this:

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.     Rev 14:4-5

Because i was a victim of abuse as a child and an adult i had great reservation about giving my life over to anyone and especially not to a man who said He loves me.  There was also a terrible movie out that portrayed Jesus as a sensual lover of women. It is a lying spirit from the devil that would accuse Jesus of lust or being sensual or sexual toward anyone, He is undefiled as no one else ever was. Even for eternity.

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.   Matt 22:30

If we come to Him in prayer and have problems in this area, He reaches out and hugs us in Godly Pure Love can cast unclean lust right out of us. Sometimes people that have been abused find it hard to relate to Jesus, or if they have been hurt by their dad or other adult males when they are young, they have trouble relating to a Father, or comprehending a Love that doesn’t want to hurt or exploit them. Jesus is a gentleman, He stands at the door and knocks, He doesn’t barge in uninvited and use anyone despitefully. He is patient while we learn to trust a little at a time and not upset because we cant easily trust.

God’s definition of love is way different than the human definition of love~

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.  It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].  It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]     1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

God is love, I took the liberty of changing “love” in this set of scriptures to “Jesus” so that I might have a better picture of what God and Jesus are like based on the amplified version of the bible:

Jesus endures long and is patient and kind; Jesus never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display Himself haughtily. He is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); He is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for He is not self-seeking; He is not touchy or fretful or resentful; He takes no account of the evil done to Him [He pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. He does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.  Jesus bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, His hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and He endures everything [without weakening]    1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.  John 13:23

…and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Jer 30:21-22

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.     John 12:32

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. Song 8:13

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.  The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.     Zeph 3:16-17

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.     Eph 3:16-19

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.      1 John 4:7-10

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.     2 Cor 13:14

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; … Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.    Song 8:6-7

Moses asked to see God’s glory:

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.    Ex 33:18-19

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Ex 33:20

So instead of showing Moses His face, He showed him His name:

And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…    Ex 34:5-7

that bears repeating:
The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…

And then God did something extraordinary to reveal Himself to people:

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;    Heb 1:1-3

“and the express image of his person” that is why people say if you want to see what God is like, look at Jesus!

His Love is deeper than any love I have ever known, not just forgiving our sins. I watched a movie when I was a child, it was a pretty old movie about God and Jesus and was full of POWER AND JUSTICE AND VENGANCE, PEOPLE WERE SURE THAT GOD WAS ABLE TO WIPE THEM OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH AT ANY MOMENT when He parted the red sea!!! My favorite part though, was when Jesus walked up to the woman at the well, He spoke something so tenderly and compassionately and she cried. As she was standing there weeping, He reached out His hands and wiped the mascara from her eyes and you could tell He loved her deeply, no condemnation, only real love.

Once when I was 3 months pregnant and had 2 young children, I went through a very distressing time in my marriage. I was very depressed and feeling very alone and worthless. In the afternoon when the kids finally went down for their naps I went into my bedroom in total despair and tried to rest. I was kind of half asleep and I pictured myself as a little girl dancing on a stage. In my dream I twirled and curtsied and then I saw a hand reaching through the clouds above me and drop a rose on the stage. I thought to myself, wow I am really depressed, I am imagining things! And I went to sleep. When I woke up there was a knock at my door and when I answered it there was an elderly man from a church I had recently visited, he motioned to his wife in the car and said, ‘this is from grandma Harding, she said Jesus told her to give you these roses.’  Wow! Jesus is so amazing!

love is strong as death

When I gave my life to Jesus He filled me with so much love that I couldn’t contain it all. I felt His acceptance just like I was, I felt His great forgiveness and mercy, I felt His joy and immense peace. I loved Him so much, but then life started creeping in and my peace was leaving, my troubles increased. I couldn’t stay focused on Him, the remarkable thing though was that I had this deep longing inside always to return to that Love. when I went to a church that used scripture for formulas and works I wasn’t upset or angry as they were leading me away from Jesus the Living God, but I was deeply, deeply missing my first love, Jesus,the lover of my soul. It is that love that has always drawn me out of my sin and back to Him. It draws me out of every snare laid before me. I left that church and returned to His love and guidance (even if that meant that I might have to wait till I got to heaven to have my every desire fulfilled for the goods of the world.) That love is stronger than my desire for drugs or alcohol, that Love is stronger than my desire for sin for a season.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.    Song 8:6-7

I don’t view my sins anymore as “a great transgression against God that He is furious about”(He poured out all His anger on the cross) I now view them as things that get in the way of my relationship with Jesus. I don’t want to be out in the bars anymore being superficial and having a “great time”, I want to hang out with other people that love Jesus. Instead of always going out, I want instead to find a place where I can enter into the Holiest of Holies and sit at Jesus feet and let Him fill me again with His love. I am addicted to that love. The love that is non judgemental even when He corrects me. The place where He fills me with Himself by the Holy Spirit.

I become so peaceful and content that I am merciful and gracious, I forgive people that injure me, it is easy when I am full of His Spirit, it just flows out of me, it is Him doing it through me.

Love is stronger than my desire to lead a righteous life, it is strong when I don’t feel like doing anything nice to anybody, the Love of God keeps me in the Light when I want to go into the darkness.

For the love of Christ constraineth us;    2 Cor 5:14

con•strain (kn-strn)
tr.v. con•strained, con•strain•ing, con•strains 1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object.
2. To keep within close bounds; confine: a life that had been constrained by habit to the same few activities and friends. 3. To inhibit or restrain; hold back:

I reveled in the depth of His love for me but a problem I found wasn’t in God’s loving me, it was that I really didn’t love Him very much. He showed me a scripture that I was able to turn around and give back to Him. It took great humility for me to admit it, but I needed even His grace to love Him,

…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.    Romans 5:5

I prayed that He would fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I could love Him. Oh the depth of that love, I haven’t arrived totally yet, I don’t love Jesus more than everything in my life, but I am closer. He still lets me go wandering following after things that I think will make me happy, like a sheep chasing buttercups in the other field. Patiently He waits till I discover that they don’t really fill me with peace or joy or contentment, they never satisfy for long. And then by His grace, I turn back around and look to Him again. Surprisingly, the more I love Him, the more I like myself. I become a person I like to be around, I can look myself in the mirror again.

I actually have really great days and I am able to really rest when I am tired, instead of having the weight of my shortcomings keeping me up all night. I look forward to the new day instead of wishing it were all different. I have a life with peace in the midst of storms, because He goes with me, I have joy, true joy, and belly laughs. I have strength to endure the things I don’t want to in this life. I have love for others, even others that I never liked before. I have grace and mercy for others because He has that for me. I don’t have to control or impress people, I will be just fine even if they do reject me, He knows how that feels and He knows when I need an extra jolt of His love and acceptance.

He tells me what He thinks of me, and it is all good, I have a future and a hope. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. When I was a child my brother always knew when I was feeling down and he would make me laugh or take me out to ride bikes which I loved to do. He let me follow him and his friends everywhere. I tagged along with him enough that he should have gotten tired of me but he never did. Jesus is even more like that. He knows me better than anyone ever will, and He always knows what I need even before I ask.