If God Is Love.......................

IF GOD IS LOVE…………… Without mincing words I want to quickly say that I am neither a renowned counselor nor a trained pastor. Nevertheless, I am compelled in my spirit to write this article on one of the most controversial issues in the world and I am already aware of the fact that my points of view/ideologies on this sensitive issue will contradict to a great extent some already existing ideas. Few months ago, I stumble at a portion of the bible that says “GOD IS LOVE”. Even though I have read that portion of the scripture several time, the Spirit opened my eyes to the mystery hidden in that statement. Most often than not I have seen/heard people discuss “LOVE” in various dimension but, I had always known there is more about love than we always thought. Today, the word love has been grossly abused and misused by humans especially in the secular world. We often hear statements like: FALLING IN LOVE, MADLY IN LOVE WITH, I LOVE HER/HIM THAT I CANT DO WITHOUT HER/HIM, HE/SHE HAS STOLLEN MY HEART to mention but a few. Initially, when I hear these wonderful statements I marvel but as time goes on I have come to realize that over ninety percent (90%) (if not more) of those who uses those statements either don’t know what they want to say or they are simply deceivers. Now I want to go straight to the point, like I said earlier am neither a counselor nor a trained pastor, therefore it is never my intensions to give lectures on this topic but suffice it to say that experience and observation makes a better teacher. Now let us examine some of the critical issues concerning the so called “LOVE”, on so many occasions I have asked boys /girls who said he/she is in love with an opposite sex to tell me why he/she thinks so and the answer has always been silly. I have come to realize after interacting with a good number of youths that in most cases, when a boy/man say “AM IN LOVE WITH HER” he is indirectly saying “I AM IN LUST WITH HER”. At this juncture, I want to quickly say that anyone who doesn’t “know God” can never Love. The reason is simple “LOVE IS DIVINE”. Please permit me to take you to the epistle of 1John 4:8 and I quote “Whosoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (NIV). Now, let us have a critical look at the verse: first, it says “whosoever does not love does not know God” if this is true which I know you equally agree with me it is true then, I can then feel free to say that the opposite is also true “whosoever does not know God does not love”. So, if this is true, then I can confidently say that, the only prerequisite to love is “knowing God”, if one does not know God then he/she CANEVER LOVE rather he/she CAN LUST. Secondly, the same verse went on to say “Because God is love” please note the metaphor GOD IS LOVE, it does not say God is like love or that love is like God rather God is love. If we accept this to be true then, I can as well say that “If God is love, then love CANEVER be stupid, foolish, mad and hurting as we often present it to be. I just read in the Sun news pepper about a young crippled lady who claimed she falled in love with a male colleague of hers. While the relationship lasted for good nine (9) years the young man promised to love and cherish her irrespective of her physically challenged nature and the young innocent handicapped lady foolishly allow the deceiver to be sleeping with her. Everything seems to be moving well until the lady got pregnant some time last year. Hear her: Though physically challenged, Eunice is a paragon of beauty. That, no doubt, explains why she was attracted to Stephen the first day they met in the school. She recalls: “Stephen started coming to my room in the hostel in 1998, but proposed to me in 1999. He said all kinds of things: that my condition has nothing to do with his love for me, that he has genuine love for me and that he was ready for marriage if I accepted. And truly he acted it. He seemed God-sent to me. He was always there for me. And we loved each other. Things went on like that for eight years until I “took in” last year. I told him I was feeling funny. He took

me to where we had test that confirmed I was pregnant. At first he was not cold about it. But things changed when he told his mum who is also a worker in the school. According to him, his mum said over her dead body will she see her son marry me (even though she was aware of the affair from the beginning). The pregnant was already two months then. I was abandoned to my fate My pastor friend Pastor femi fasanya of singleaffairs ministry in his article “Don’t fall in love” recommended walking in love rather than falling in love. But I want to quickly add that walking in love can only be possible when we come to the knowledge of God through His son Jesus Christ. If one does not know God the much he can do in to fall in LUST. Someone might ask but, how do I know when I am in LUST and when I am In LOVE? I want to briefly give some guide to that question but, first I want to tell you what LUST is, I simply defined LUST as doing or strongly desiring in our minds the evil which when given the privilege we can do it with our body. Below are the few points that might be of good help to you: when you look at an opposite sex and all you see is his/her physique then you are probably in lust when you cannot get your mind off him/her even when your alone or in the mist of other people, then the chances are that your in lust/infatuation when all that captivates you about him/her is the physical appearance then it is likely to be lust when you began to see a mental image of his/her nudity then it is absolutely lust. When you began to have some unnecessary/uncontrolled chemistry reactions within you then know that lust is gradually setting in. It has been observed that most of the marriages that crashed are covenanted through lust. Hence as time rolls by, the marriages began to suffer because lust can never stand the REALITY of marriage.(Please be inform that due to our human nature it always seems like there is thin line between lust and love, so the best and sure way to checkmate the two is to subject them to the HOLY SPIRIT and THE WORD OF GOD). Permit me to share this personal experience with you. While I was at the camp during my NYSC orientation, I saw a sister that humanly speaking I like what my eyes saw both her physical structures and spiritual commitment. Initially, I thought I have seen my missing rib but because I have always known the tricks of satan and the flesh I consciously subjected it to test through prayers and scriptures and to my greatest surprise within few days the funny feeling disappeared. After this experience, the Holy Spirit made me to understand that satan has succeeded in deceiving the world even most Christians into believing that lust is love. Before I bring this article to conclusion, I want to once again re-emphasize this bitter truth: “No matter the perspective from which you want to look at it, romance and sex is never suppose to be part of love until after marriage”. Please, when next you say I LOVE U” do ask yourself: Do I know God? - This statement “knowing God” is not all about being a Christian or a regular church goer rather it means having an intimate relationship with God, observing, keeping with all sincererity of heart Gods commandments and instructions as clearly stated in His Word (the Bible). Do I know what I have just said or Shouldn’t I have said? “I LUST AFTER U” sounds crazy I guest. At least now you are being sincere and I am sure you will be appreciated for being sincere. NB: the door of salvation is still open right in front of you; just enter through it for only then you will began to enjoy LOVE through JESUS CHRIST. THANKS AND REMAIN BLESSDED