Copyright\u00a0 by Shea Oakley<\/p>\n
All rights reserved<\/p>\n
Love, by definition, desires the best for its object. In the Scriptures we are told that God is love. Only the ultimate, perfect love issuing forth from the heart of God is powerful enough to fully actualize that best; both for and in us.<\/p>\n
Every human being is fallen. We are all in need of complete transformation from the inside out to change us from the profoundly darkened creatures we have become to the perfected children of the most high we will be. Human love, no matter how intense and long-lasting, does not have the transformative power necessary to achieve this in us. While it is true that God can use our love for one another to further our metamorphosis into beings who more fully reflect His likeness this \u201chorizontal love\u201d cannot be a substitute for the \u201cVertical Love\u201d that comes directly from the Father through the Son.<\/p>\n
The problem with affection between persons is that it is never completely without self-interest and is always prone to variation. Our Lord is not susceptible to either of these imperfections. He is an inexhaustible source of selfless and constant love because he completely embodies love itself, and He is perfect as well as all-powerful in all His attributes.<\/p>\n
Our Creator wants the best for us above all others because He loves us above all others. With his will wedded to His power it becomes possible for us to receive that best. We who belong to Him are literally being loved into the greatest possible thing we could ever hope to become, a being completely remade in the full image of God.<\/p>\n
If we could just grasp the reality of this truth we could cease our striving to be \u201clovable enough\u201d to God, other people and ourselves. To be the focus of divine love, and to know it, is to be set free from looking for love \u201cin all the wrong places\u201d. We can allow ourselves to be loved by the one Person whose care and affection for us is unconditional and sufficient for every circumstance we face, no matter how difficult it might appear. God\u2019s love trumps every obstacle we face in life if we understand and receive it as it is given: in the perfect power of the divine.<\/p>\n
Because God is love, and because we are the apple of His eye, those of us who bear the name \u201cChristian\u201d can fully trust that the best possible outcome for our individual existence is assured. This is the legacy the Lover of our souls will bequeath us on that day when our relationship is consummated in full and final union with His Christ. It is the best thing that we could ever hope for. In fact it is better even than that because His best for us is beyond what we could ever dream or imagine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Copyright\u00a0 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved Love, by definition, desires the best for its object. In the Scriptures we are told that God is love. Only the ultimate, perfect love issuing forth from the heart of God is powerful enough to fully actualize that best; both for and in us. Every human being is… <\/p>\n