More To Follow
Before a child is born, the parents prepare a room, a bed, some blankets, warm clothes, bottles,
milk, baby food, bath tub, diapers, medicine, toys, etc. Some parents go further. They prepare for
their child’s preschool education, kindergarten, elementary, high school and college education.
When the child is born, everything is there already. What is the motive behind all these things? It
is love.
Why is there a universe? Why all things are there? What is the motive behind them all? Well, one
simple word will answer all these big questions. Love. God’s love. God created all these
wonderful and beautiful things for the object of His love. And the object of His love is humankind.
Christianity is the only religion that sets forth the Supreme Being as Love. In heathen religions He
is set forth as an angry being and in constant need of appeasing.
The primary meaning of the word "love" in Scripture is a "purposeful commitment to sacrificial
action for another."
I want to share with you some facts about love from the Bible that every believer should know,
and every sinner needs to know.
Love comes from God.
What does that mean? Well, it simply means that God is the source of real love. True love is
based in the very life of God Himself. In other words, there can be no real love without God being
behind it. Love has its basis in God.
And when our text says that God is love it is saying something about the very nature of God
Himself. John is telling us here that love is the essential and central attribute of God. God is
characterized by love. In fact, this is so true that it defines those who belong to God. Because
God is love, those of us who claim to know God should live lives characterized by that love.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S LOVE
POWERFUL
The Love of God is a strong powerful love. It is not a weak love that can easily be destroyed. The
love of God is a sovereign, everlasting love which is willing to make any sacrifices for us. Apostle
Paul was sure that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ.
PROVEN
The love of God is a proven love. It is not merely deceiving words but proved by the sacrificial
death of Christ on the cross. We can be certain that God loves us when we see how He sent His
only Son to die for us.
PROTECTIVE
The Love of God is a protective love. It protects us from harm and danger. It protects us from
our own self destructive ways.
PURE
The Love of God is a pure love. It has no ulterior motives. The world is filled with love with
hidden motives. But the love of God is pure and unselfish. He loves us in order to bless us.
PATIENT
The Love of God is patient. It does not destroy us because of our imperfections. God is
longsuffering and slow to anger because of His great love towards us. He patiently waits for us to
be formed in His likeness.
PROVIDING
The Love of God is a providing love. It meets our need. God’s love is not only for this world but
for all eternity. His love provides our needs while we live in this world. His Love has also
prepared great blessings and treasures for us to enjoy throughout all eternity.
PERFECT
The Love of God is a perfect love. It is not like the imperfect human love. There will always be
flaws and disappointments in human love. The only place to find perfect love is in the Love of
God. It is only in God’s love that the perfections of Love can be experienced.
How much does God love you? Max Lucado writes, "If God had a refrigerator, your picture
would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring
and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the
universe, and he chose your heart... Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you."
Have you ever stopped to consider how God demonstrates His love to us? Most people assume
that God loves us just because He created us, but there is much more. God’s love involved a
supreme sacrifice in His Son, Jesus Christ. If you want to see love demonstrated, look at Jesus.
He is the evidence of God’s love. He is the demonstration of God’s love. Listen again to John’s
words in our text: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son
into the world that we might live through him.
God certainly has shown us what true love looks like. In Christ we see His love and compassion
for us. Christ came because God loves us. Christ came because God is love. And it doesn’t end
there.
A philanthropist gave $400 to dispense to a poor minister a bit at a time, thinking it was too much
too send him all at once. A $20 dollar bill was sent in a letter with only these words within the
envelope, "More to follow." In a few days’ time, the minister received another letter containing
another 20, with the same phrase, "more to follow." A day or two after came a third, then a
fourth, and still the same promise, "more to follow." Till the whole sum had been received, the
astonished minister was made familiar with the cheering words, “more to follow."
Every blessing that comes from God is sent with the same message "more to follow." "I forgive
you your sins, but there’s more to follow." "I justify you in the righteousness of Christ, but there’s
more to follow." "I adopt you into my family, but there’s more to follow." "I educated you for
heaven, but there’s more to follow." "I give you grace upon grace, but there’s more to follow." "I
have helped you even to old age, but there’s still more to follow." "I will uphold you in the hour of
death, and as you are passing into the next world, my mercy shall still continue with you, and
when you land in the world to come there shall still be “more to follow".
How much does God love us?
The mother of a nine-year-old boy named Mark received a phone call in the middle of the
afternoon. It was the teacher from her son’s school.
"Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your son’s third grade class. Your son did
something that surprised me so much that I thought you should know about it immediately." That
was not a particularly comforting thing to say to her.
The teacher continued, "Nothing like this has happened in all my years of teaching. This morning I
was teaching a lesson on creative writing. And as I always do, I tell the story of the ant and the
grasshopper:
"The ant works hard all summer and stores up plenty of food. But the grasshopper plays all
summer and does no work.
"Then winter comes. The grasshopper begins to starve because he has no food. So he begs,
’Please Mr. Ant, you have so much food. Please let me eat, too.’" Then I say, "Boys and girls,
your job is to write the end of the story."
"Your son, Mark, raised his hand. ’Teacher, may I draw a picture?’
"’Well, yes, Mark, if you like, you may draw a picture. But first you must write the ending to the
story.’
"As in all the years past, most of the students said the ant shared his food through the winter, and
both the ant and the grasshopper lived. A few children wrote, ’No, Mr. Grasshopper. You should
have worked in the summer. Now, I have just enough food for myself.’ So the ant lived and the
grasshopper died.
"But your son ended the story in a way different from any other child, ever. He wrote, ’So the ant
gave all of his food to the grasshopper; the grasshopper lived through the winter. But the ant
died.’
"And the picture? At the bottom of the page, Mark had drawn three crosses."
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The cross of Christ is proof positive that God loves you enough to die for. And there’s “more to
follow”.
