The Love of God

Good morning, everyone. Paul ends a hard letter with a soft blessing — "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." 2 Cor 13:14. After two letters of correction, why end like that?

I noticed the order. He says Son, Father, Spirit. I expected Father first. Why start with Jesus?

That's the first jewel. The Corinthians couldn't understand the Father's love until they first tasted the Son's grace. You have to experience grace before love makes sense. That's our order too.

But the lesson says "God is love" is written everywhere — in buds, birds, flowers, husband and wife, parents and children. I struggle with that. Because I see nature, and I also see earthquakes. I see parents who abandon children. Is that love?

That's why I walked away for years. People told me "God is love" while the church felt loveless. I saw knowledge but no kindness. I knew the Sabbath, but I didn't feel loved. I thought if God is like His people, I'm not interested.

And that is exactly what Corinth had. 1 Cor 8:1 - knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. They could debate doctrine. They loved flashy preachers. But they were suing each other, divided, sleeping with step-parents. Knowledge without love doesn't build, it inflates.

So how do we know God's love is real then, if nature and people fail?

Yes. That's my question too.

Paul and John don't take us to a flower. They take us to a cross. John 3:16 - God gave. 1 John 4:10 - God sent. Romans 5:8 - "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God demonstrates. He doesn't just declare.

That Romans text brought me back. While I was still a sinner. While I was still away from church, still bitter. He didn't wait for me to clean up. He demonstrated.

But here is the hard question from Friday: "What would we lose if Jesus Himself were not fully and eternally God?"

I can answer that as a new Adventist. If Jesus is not God, then God didn't come Himself. He sent someone else to do the hard part. He stayed in heaven while an angel died for me. That's not love.

Exactly. If Jesus is a created being, then the cross is God sacrificing someone else. But if Jesus is fully God, then God Himself is on that cross. God Himself is paying. That Is love.

And that's why the third part of the blessing matters — "the communion of the Holy Spirit." Communion means fellowship, sharing. God doesn't want us to just admire His love from a distance. He wants us to enter it, to live inside it.

So Paul wants unity, but not fake unity. Corinth tried to have unity without love. We try sometimes too. We agree on doctrines but we wound each other in business meeting. We defend truth in a loveless way. What does that say about the God we claim to serve?

So the real examination is not just "Do I know the truth?" But "Has the truth made me more loving?"

And more patient, more forgiving, more like Jesus. Ellen White says God wants to make His children happy. Not just correct, but happy. Built up.

I came back not because someone won an argument with me. I came back because someone demonstrated love when I didn't deserve it. That's grace. That's the order — grace first, then I could finally see the love of the Father.

So can I pray today, "Lord, let me not just know about Your love, but let Your love change how I love others?"

That's the prayer. All we do must be done in love. 1 Cor 16:14. Not some things. All things.