Discerning the Magnitude of God’s Love

Defining and Discerning Love

To discern means to come to know, recognize, or discriminate mentally. Love is an action word, demonstrated in tangible ways. Think about the ways you show love to others, like family, friends and romantic love interests. Also reflect on how you desire love to be shown to you. Consider these ways that you experience love in the natural as you read about the magnitude of God’s love towards you.

An Inside View of God’s Love for You

God‘s love is personal, empowering, long-suffering and merciful. He made us in His image with complete authority over the earth, a redemption policy, and a reservoir of compassion. God’s love is everlasting, never failing and inseparable from us.

Now consider God’s ultimate sacrifice for a moment. God gives His only begotten Son because of His love for us. So not only does He choose to deal with the pain of that momentary loss, but also the excruciating method of the sacrifice.

Can you think of anyone that you might dare to die for? Take a minute, breathe deeply. Now, does anyone come to mind?

Some people strongly think that they would die for a loved one or risk their life to save an innocent, but add in the knowledge of how that death would come. Would they or you still do so if it would involve extreme physical torture?

Well, Jesus not only died for the best and the worst of us, He knew how death would come and He allowed it anyway. However, it was not without a moment of weakness as indicated in the following scriptures:

(Luke 22:42-44): ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

A Graphic Visual

“The Passion of Christ” movie gave a visually graphic portrayal of what Christ endured prior to and during the crucifixion. For me, it gave a whole new perspective of the song, the blood that Jesus shed for me way back on Calvary, and the magnitude of His love and commitment to redeem and reconcile mankind to the Father.

The magnitude of God’s love is immeasurable and surpasses human understanding. He is love and in order for you to know and experience true, unconditional, agape love, you must enter into a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Measure your love relationships against the standard of love demonstrated in God’s word, and then become the love you seek and discern in God.

Be blessed,

Jo Anne Meekins
Inspired 4 U

Father's Love Letter

Scripture References

(Isaiah 49:15-16, AMP): 15 [The Lord answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 “Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on the palms of My hands; Your city walls [Zion] are continually before Me.

(Genesis 1:26, AMP): Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”

(Micah 7:18-19, NKJV): 18 Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

(Jeremiah 31:3, NIV): The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

(Romans 8:38-39, NIV): 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(John 3:16, NIV): For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

(Isaiah 53:5, NIV): But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

(Romans 5:6-8, NIV): 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

*** Amplified (AMP); New International Version (NIV); New King James Version (NKJV)***

Be blessed,

Jo Anne Meekins
Inspired 4 U Publications

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2018 Jo Anne Meekins