The Transforming Power of God’s Love

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (II Corinthians 3:18).

Sounds cool? This verse describes the beautiful work of the Holy Spirit in conforming us to the revelation that we see when we behold the Lord’s glorious qualities and attributes. These revelations come through an ever increasing relationship with Him. The following is a list of some of the major ways on how God’s love impacts and changes us.

1. God’s love brings forgiveness. The revelation of how completely our Father has forgiven us and continues to relate to us in kindness, patience and forgiveness inspires us to relate in the same love toward those who have hurt or offended us. The Scripture says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
2. God’s love removes condemnation. The Bible tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). God’s love never operates in a condemning, accusing manner. His love may convict us of sin but at the same time He encourages us onward in our calling as His precious children. We take His love out to others when we relate to them the same way.
3. God’s love is full of mercy. God’s love is rich in mercy, full of kindness, compassion and forbearance and does not treat us according to what we deserve. The riches of His mercy are seen in the fact that He did not just forgive us our sins; He conferred spiritual blessings upon us through Jesus Christ.
4. God’s love brings emotional healing. Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn form Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). Learning to rest in God’s love is one of the most healing things we can do for our souls. The Holy Spirit brings the comfort of His love to bear upon our hurts, wounds, stresses and fears. And nurtures us back to inner peace and health.
5. God’s love inspires us to love others.  “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:14). Knowing the love of Christ personally inspires us to express that same love outwardly to others. His compassion becomes our compassion. His patience becomes our patience. What we receive from Him we can give to others.
6. God’s love releases faith. The apostle Paul said, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6). Any form of outward religious acts or rituals, they mean nothing to God. What pleases Him is “faith expressing itself through love”.

I can go on and on with the list but I feel I need to stop with this one and challenge you concerning the truth of God’s word that is very relevant in your life today. Are you having a difficult time relating to or receiving the love of God in your life? It maybe because of the many things that happened in your life and you’ve been deeply wounded, feel hurt and betrayed. I would like you to know that Jesus expressed His greatest concerns in prayer to the Father on the night before His crucifixion. Among these concerns was the passionate cry for us to know the same love of the Father that He knew. He prayed that this love would be in us, that we would know it personally and live each day in its comfort, strength and blessing (John 17:26). One effective thing you can do is to meditate on scriptures that express His love and apply these scriptures (Isaiah 49:15; John 3:16; John 17:20-26). The Lord longs for intimate relationship with us and takes pleasure in our expressions of love for Him.  Express your love back to Him, for He first loved us!