After food and water, the greatest need in every
human heart is to be deeply loved, valued, and
accepted just for who we are. Here's the question.
How do you get that kind of love? That's what
we'll explore today. Welcome to this weekend
edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
The mission of this daily program is to intentionally
disciple Christians through the insightful Bible
teaching of Chip Ingram. In this past week, we
wrapped up his popular series on seven fundamental
characteristics of God called The Real God. So
today, we're revisiting Chip's message on God's
love, an attribute we tend to focus on a lot.
But in this message, Chip takes us on a journey
to better understand and appreciate this attribute
in a way we may never have before. He has a lot
to share, so let's get going. Here now is Chip
with his message, The Love of God. I don't think
I could make the statement, what the world needs
now is love, sweet love. It's what everyone needs,
what everyone wants. I don't think I could get
hardly a person in the world to raise their hand
and say, excuse me, I disagree. We don't need
any more love. People being kind to one another,
forgiving one another, taking care of each other,
family staying together, people being sensitive.
I'll tell you what, we got enough of that as
there is. Now, think this through though. If
universally we agree that the world needs love,
And we all need to be loved. Why is there such
little love? It's kind of amazing, isn't it?
I put a little statement of three facts about
love. Fact number one, it's a universal need.
We are all looking for love. Fact number two
is there's a universal solution to the universal
need. God loves all people everywhere and longs
to meet the deepest needs of their heart for
love. Fact number three, we have a universal
disconnect. There's a tragic disconnection. You
have this unbelievable need and this supernatural,
unlimited, boundless availability. And nevertheless,
most people remain starved for love. They're
starved for love. And there's three reasons.
Some people have no idea that God cares for them
and loves them. Some of those people have tasted
and they know about God's love, but they've not
received it. And then there's a whole nother
set of people that at least once or twice, they
had this experience and for the life of them,
they don't know how to touch it or taste it again.
I would say that's at least a decent picture
of a universal need. A universal solution and
a very tragic disconnect among both believers
and unbelievers. Brennan Manning in his little
book called Abba's Child quotes Henry Nowen and
talks about what's the root cause behind Christians
not experiencing the love of God. I think his
words are instructive. Nowen writes, over the
years I've come to realize that the greatest
trap in our life is not success, popularity,
or power, but self -rejection. Follow his logic
closely. Success, popularity, and power can indeed
present a great temptation, but their seductive
quality often comes from the way they are a part
of a much larger temptation to self -rejection.
When we have come to believe in the voices that
call us worthless, unlovable, when we have voices
that you're not worthy, you don't measure up
as the idea, when we carry in our hearts shame
and guilt in a sense that we are unlovable, then
he goes on to say, success, popularity, and power
are easily perceived as attractive solutions.
The real trap, however, is self -rejection. Self
-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual
life because it contradicts the sacred voice
that God calls us the beloved. We are beloved
in Christ. We are in Christ. Being the beloved
constitutes the core truth of our existence.
I think at the core of the existence of God's
heart, at least in what I'm learning, and as
I've read many of the people that have walked
much deeper in the Christian life than me, It
comes to the sense that believing just as you
are, not if this gets cleaned up, not because
you do this or do that, but just as you are because
of who God is, that you are the object of his
affection and that all these things about purity
and all these things about caring for others
and all these things about life transformation
really start. if they're genuine, at the very,
very core of our existence, when we begin to
see ourselves as God sees us, as precious, as
valuable, as unconditionally loved, as the object
of his affection and concern. And there's nothing
that brings greater honor to God if we could
learn to receive it. How great a love the Father
has on us, has lavished upon us that we should
be called The children of God. So let's talk
about what love is. Let's see if we can move
it from that concept intellectual in our head
down to our hearts. For me, it's God's love is
his holy disposition toward all that he's created
that compels him to express unconditional affection.
and selective correction to provide the highest
and best quality of existence, both now and forever
for the objects of his love. Let me unpack that
just a little because the words were actually
chosen fairly carefully. God's love is holy.
In other words, we learned that word, right?
It means separate, Markov. It's totally other.
And it's a holy disposition. It's just the way
he feels, the way he thinks all the time about
you. And it's that he's created. He has this
holy disposition that compels him to do two things.
He's just compelled, not because of something
in you, but because of something in him to express
unconditional affection. It's a holy disposition
that compels him toward unconditional affection
and selective correction. See, God loves me so
much that anytime my life, my thought, my relationship,
my finances, and my priorities are moving me
toward unhealthy things that will do damage to
me and damage to others, his love does what?
He brings about correction. See, that's what
God's love is. He's compelled to do it, but why?
In order to provide the highest and best quality
of existence. You know, the abundant life Jesus
talked about, that's just another way of saying
it. The highest, best, what's it mean? Life that's
really life. Living to the brim, living fulfilled,
living not dependent on people's response, but
something that wells up inside where the deepest
longings and thirsts of your soul are satisfied.
That's what God wants for you. God's love is
other. And so absolutely beyond what we can grasp.
And so that's kind of my definition. The characteristics
of this love, and I call it agape love. The New
Testament writers actually made up that word.
They just didn't have a good word so that, you
know, we're going to take this word agape and
let's kind of sanctify it, put it in the New
Testament so it doesn't get confused with storge
or eros or some of these other kind of loves
that the Greek language was familiar with. And
the characteristics are interesting. It's a giving
love. It's a sacrificial love. It's an unconditional
love. And it's a boundless love. God's love is
expressed primarily through his goodness, mercy,
long -suffering, and grace. And I have a quote
here from one of my professors. I really like
what Dr. Ryrie says here. He says, the love of
God is like a tree, and then there are branches
of its expression. And they are primarily his
goodness, mercy, long -suffering, and grace.
And he says, although there are distinctions
as you study these words, they're really not
exact. God's goodness may be defined as his benevolent
concern for his creatures. Did you ever just
think of God as the today, this moment? He's
concerned about you. You know how some of you
moms are? Hey, call me when you get there. Call
me. I want to know you made it okay. The God
of the universe sort of has that attitude. Hey,
I'm just, I'm checking on you. I want to make
sure everything's okay. Is that how you think
of him? Or do you think of him as far away, hard
to get to, wish you could get his attention.
The love of God is expressed in his goodness.
It's also divined as a benevolent concern for
his creatures, as well as mercy is the aspect
of his goodness that causes him to show pity
and compassion. Have you ever just really blown
it and just felt so shameful and so bad and just
like, you're not even lovable. I mean, forget
by God, by anybody. The love of God is expressed
in his mercy. And he just looks down and says,
this didn't surprise me at all. I'm not even
shocked. In fact, before the foundations of the
earth, when the God has been determining what
the price tag of men's freedom would be, Jesus
knew that he would come and he would hang on
a cross for that very shameful sin. It goes on
to say that his long suffering speaks of his
self -restraint in the face of provocation. Have
you ever thought of God exercising self -restraint?
I mean, you know, like you really need a spanking
and he just... I'll wait a couple more days.
You know, you just got a really rotten attitude
or you're involved in some blatant sin, you know,
and the consequences should be swift, but he
just loves you so much. God is practicing self
-restraint in his relationship with you. Why?
Because he loves you. And then the final word
there is grace. His unmerited favor shown primarily
through Christ, which makes possible a relationship
with him. You're listening to Living on the Edge.
We'll return you to Chip's message in just a
minute, but let me quickly share with you, God
has called us to do incredible ministry work
all around the world. And when you partner with
us financially, you're a part of what we do.
So if you'd like to join us, go to livingontheedge
.org. We appreciate you giving whatever God leads
you to give. Well, with that, here's Chip. I've
taken all that I've learned about God's love
and I thought if I could put it in a few statements,
a few simple statements to get it from this God
loves me and I have these feelings now and then
and okay, it's goodness and it's mercy and it's
long suffering and I get a little flash of it.
But I wanted to give you maybe a little summary
of what it would look like if you could see specifically.
what it feels like and how God thinks about you.
So you could start to move it from up here, intellectual
to down here to spiritual and emotional. And
as I read these, what I'd like you to do is think
about just this question, kind of lean back.
Is this how I see God? Is this how I see God?
And if sort of that quick gut reaction is. I
might intellectually believe God is that way,
but that is not how I see God or think of how
he sees me. Then what you know is you have some
renewal of the mind to do. Statement number one,
God loves for you means his thoughts, intentions,
desires, and plans for you are always for your
good and never for your harm. We looked at, you
know, Jeremiah 29, 11, and James 1. But think
of that. Do you kind of in your heart of hearts
think that his desires and intents, his plans,
they're always for your good? He's just a very
safe, safe person to be with. And the plans for
the future that he has for you, his desires for
you, it's always for your welfare. See, if you
understand the love of God, that's what you'll
think. God's love for you means that he is kind.
He's open. He's approachable. He's frank. And
he's eager to be your friend. Do you see him
that member? I don't call you slaves because
a slave doesn't know what his master is doing.
I've called you my friends for all things. The
father has made known to me. I've revealed to
you. Do you see him as open and friendly or is
he distant and unapproachable? And you know,
you gotta be good to be on good terms. And when
you're good, he'll listen to you. But if you
struggled, he probably doesn't. God's love means
that 24 seven, he's open. He's kind. He's approachable.
God's love for you means he emotionally identifies
with your pain, your joy, your hopes and dreams.
And he's chosen to allow your happiness to affect
his own. Have you thought of the, you know, when
you're in pain and when you're hurt, is he on
the other side of the fence and he's maybe kind
of causing it? Or is he on the side of the fence
behind you? With his arm around you and your
joys bring actually happiness to the heart of
God and your hurts and your struggles bring tears.
Have you ever thought of that? Have you ever
thought that when Jesus' friend Lazarus died
in John 11, that he wept, that he hurt, that
he felt for Mary and he felt for Martha and it
broke his heart when he saw what a fallen world
and death did. Is that how you see God? That
when you're really struggling, instead of being
down on you, he weeps with you. God's love for
you means, fourth, that he takes pleasure in
you just for who you are, totally apart from
your performance or your accomplishments. He's
the God of Zephaniah 3. He's the God that is
mighty. He is the God who is with you. He is
the God that when there's confusion all around
says, just let me quiet you with my love. And
let me sing over you in rejoicing. Is that how
you see him? You know who I'm describing? I'm
describing the God of the Bible. This is the
God of the Bible. Finally, God's love for you
means he's actively and creatively orchestrating
people's circumstances and events to express
his affection and selective correction to provide
for your highest good. Do you think of this God
who is not only loving, but he's actively orchestrating
and allowing relationships and events and circumstances.
so that he could express affection through a
person, affection through a job promotion, affection
through a discovery of a spiritual gift, affection
through a new friend that really understands
you, affection through a relationship that you
never thought you would have, affection because
your body wasn't working and for reasons that
none of us understand why or when or how, but
rather than through medicine, he decided just
to touch your body. Or does he also in his love
just... So care that selectively brings circumstances
and people to bring about selective correction
and bring some pain and discouragement and some
depression. And maybe you lose a job. Maybe you
lose a friend because he wants to get your attention.
Maybe your 401k went bloop and maybe your business
is going south because just little by little,
you didn't mean to, but you're drifting. You're
drifting. And he's so jealous and he so loves
you and he sees where that's going to head. He
does some things that make you mad at first.
But like watching the little kid run out into
the street, he runs out after you, grabs you
by the neck, jerks you back so the car doesn't
hit you, and then out of love gives you a little
whack on the rear end and says to you, honey,
don't go there anymore. You're too precious.
You know, some of you may say to yourself, like
I have struggled with, you know, of all the ones,
this is kind of the neat. If this were true,
it would be really neat. You know, that one on
justice was kind of hard to take. The holiness
was a little overwhelming. The wisdom I kind
of liked. But boy, this would feed my soul. This
would change my life. Is it really true? And
so what I'd like to do is I'd like to demonstrate
from scripture that this is the God that loves
you and loves me. I'd like to walk through how
God reveals his love to us through about one,
two, three, four, five, oh, six different things.
God reveals his love to us first through creation.
Are you ready for this? He made you for himself.
Do you ever think about this way? You know, Genesis
chapter 1, verse 26 and 27, then God said, let
us make man in our own image, in our own likeness,
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and the livestock and over
the earth and over all the creatures that move
along the ground. So God created man in his own
image. In the image of God, he created him male
and female. He created them. He created you in
his own image. You're like him. And he creates
this. paradise and he wants to have a relationship
with you. And then in Colossians 1 16, you learn
for by him, Jesus, all things were created things
in heaven, things on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities,
all things were created by him. And I love this
for him. You were created for him. He made you
so he could be with you. I remember when I was
a little boy, I mean, it's so in our DNA because
we're in God's image. I remember going to the
beach as a little boy. And, you know, when you
play in the sand and it was that kind of wet
kind of sand where you could build stuff. I took
about three hours. I mean, I dug the hole and
got it. I thought it was real deep, but it seemed
kind of deep. And then I built this wall and
I was making this castle. And it was like on
a cartoon. Some big kid I didn't know. Three
hours. You feel bad for me already, don't you?
Tell you what. Ladies in the front row here,
they're going to be permanent prayer partners.
Oh man, Chip, he's probably psychologically damaged
for years. But seriously, this big kid comes
and he kicks it all down. I'm five years old
and I can still remember it. And I created sand
castle from a little water. And this is how it
made me feel. Why? Because what I make for me
matters to me. And what God makes for him matters
to him. And he made you. He made you. That's
how much you matter. This is Living on the Edge
with Chip Ingram. And you've been listening to
part one of Chip's message, The Love of God,
from our series, The Real God. In just a minute,
Chip will share some helpful application for
us to think about. But right now, Chip's here
in studio to pass along a really important message
to all of you. Chip? Thanks, Dave. I want to
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tap donate. Thanks. We appreciate whatever you
can do to help. Well, here again is Chip. In
today's program, I tried to do something that
I know is impossible. I tried to describe the
love of God. And we did go over a definition,
and it's a good place to start. Let me read it
for you one more time. God's love is his holy
disposition toward all that he's created that
compels him to express unconditional affection
and selective correction to provide the highest
and best quality of existence both now and forever
for the object of his love. And, you know, that's
a good definition. I think it's pretty accurate
and biblical, but it doesn't get down to the
emotional level. I want you to hear today. I
want to sink in how God really feels about you
totally apart from your performance. And so listen,
will you? Will you lean back if possible right
now? This is the God of the universe. His thoughts,
His intentions, His desires, and His plans for
you are always for your good and never for your
harm. Let that sink in. Everything He has lined
up for your life. is to bring something good
and wonderful to you because he loves you. Second,
he's kind. He's open. He's approachable. He's
frank. And he's eager to be your friend. He's
not hard to get to know. He's not demanding.
He's not unreasonable. Third, he emotionally
identifies with your pain, your joy, your hopes,
your dreams, and he's actually allowed your happiness
to impact him. It's like a parent. I mean, when
your kids are doing well, there's joy in your
heart. And when they're hurting and in pain,
there's sorrow in your heart. Could you grasp
today that the God who created all that there
is, that's how he feels about you in your present
situation. And fourth, he takes pleasure in you
just for who you are. I mean, if you don't do
anything today, if you don't do any good works,
although there are valuable and important and
all the rest, it doesn't affect his love. It's
not based on that. And finally, I want to remind
you today and take this with you all throughout
the day that he is actively and creatively orchestrating
people and circumstances and events this day
for you to express his affection and occasionally
some selective correction because you're his
child and you matter. Like the little song says,
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells
me so. And you are the object of that love today.
Bask in it, will you? Enjoy it. Great application
for us to think about, Chip. Thanks. You've been
listening to a selected program that we wanted
to share from this past week. To hear more from
Chip's series, The Real God, go to livingontheedge
.org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Until
next time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening
to this weekend edition of Living on the Edge.