Perfect LOVE

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Image from Ethics of Care.
Is there a thing as "perfect love"? We know God is perfect, but how much do we know of his perfect love? And how should his perfect love affect us? I often see posted by some friends on Facebook how love is never perfect and forever is a myth. They say ups and downs and hurts and pains in relationships are what true love's all about. No such thing as perfect love.

But the Word insists there is. God is love and God is perfect. This truth makes possible perfect love. First, God's love is surely perfect. Even if he sends unrepentant souls to hell---some millions of them since time immemorial---it's still an act of his perfect love. Perfect love always involves perfect judgment, and vice versa. Why is there hell? Because of God's perfect love, believe it or not. God's will is never founded on hatred. Judgment, yes, but not hatred.

God loved Jacob but hated Esau, before any of them were born. Yes, God can hate. But his punishment is never founded on hatred. It's founded on justice. Fact is, God blessed Esau even if belittled his inheritance. He lost it not because of God's hatred but because it was the result of his decision, his negligence. God can bless you even if he hates you. God makes the sun shine on both the good and evil. But if you remain in evil, you'll end up in hell because of your own decisions. God puts you in hell because you prefer it. That's perfect love.

If you reject the Son, God's wrath remains on you. Again, this is part of his perfect love. Wrath and perfect love can co-exist in God because nothing is impossible to him.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: [Rom. 11.22]
And again it says:

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, [Rom. 11.28]
God can treat you both as enemy and loved one, all at the same time. Both God's wrath and love are holy. You can't say God's wrath is less holy than his love. Both are equally good. Nothing in God is "less holy." However, God's wisdom tells us to make sure we get only the same perfect love that the Father gives to his Son. If you have died and Christ lives in you, you get the same treatment God gives to Jesus. And that's nothing short of perfect love.

"..(that you) have loved them just as you have loved Me.." [Jn.17.23]
But mind you, perfect love also put Jesus on the cross and made him suffer unjustly. Perfect love does not mean exemption from pain, hurt, want, injustice or rejection. In fact, perfect love can often make you look like a failure and be hated and rejected by the world, even the worldly church. You can't enjoy both God's perfect love and the world's "perfect" love. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. You have to choose what to enjoy.

Perfect love is precisely that---perfect. It may include pains and hurts and ups and downs---but it is NOT all about them. It's all about love that is perfect, love from a perfect God given to imperfect believers. But they are imperfect not for long. You cannot bask in the glory of God's perfect love and not be radically affected. Iron sharpens iron. The more you rub elbows with God, the more you become like him. Soon, you possess perfect love to love a perfect God with---because God deserves nothing less. Soon, you become perfect like him, not just in the afterlife, but right now.

Now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face. "Face to face" is right now in his perfect love. We can approach the throne of grace with confidence in Christ, face-to-face. Some remain in fear and relate with God from a distance. They stay at the beginning and never advance---"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." That is elementary. We begin there. But we should press on toward maturity. Hebrews says let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ.

We should aim for perfect love. John lets us a glimpse into this truth---there is no fear in love.  It was good for the Israelites to leave Egypt and go to the wilderness. Bad news was, they stayed in the wilderness too long and died. They lived in fear of God to the point that they rejected hearing God's voice. They feared his presence so much that they stayed away from it. Most Christians do that today---they know nothing except fear God.

But John tells us, there is no fear in love, but PERFECT LOVE casts out fear. In maturity, we now have to cast out fear. We no longer relate to God in fear but in perfect love. The problem is if we don't have perfect love for God because we remain in fear. Fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love, John adds.

It's a scary thing not to be "made perfect in love." Everything you do becomes useless, sooner or later.

Fear is there because sin still lingers and affects you so much. So you fear the resultant punishment. Perfect love no longer works that way. You are taken to a higher level where fear ceases to be part of the language or culture. Everything is now based on perfect love enveloped in holiness.

That's why God's perfect love has to be transferred to you. It's the only way to truly and meaningfully relate with God. This is not an option---it's a must, because God is love. You can only really worship God with perfect love that comes from him. Your worship program, beautiful sermon, wonderful singing and activeness in church do not mean a thing. Only perfect love matters when faced with God. "But the greatest of them all is love."

How does perfect love look like?

To be sure, it is steeped in genuine meekness, simplicity, a low-profile and selfless life, and devoid of any self-conceit. It is empty of anything of this world. And yet it has all confidence in God. It possess everything. It is powerful yet gentle, stern yet patient and kind, exclusive to God and yet affecting all. It travels through the narrow road and enters through the narrow door, and yet generously broad-minded. It has all the fruit of the Spirit in season. In short, just look at Jesus. Prefect love is Jesus whom God sent to fully express his love for us, while we were yet powerless and sinners.

No wonder, then, we have to "receive" Jesus Christ 100 percent into our lives and hearts. Jesus is the only way to the Father because he is the perfect Love we need in us so we can relate to the Father in perfect love.

Present MOVE: Seeing the UNSEEN in real time.

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