To Fatima With love

Submitted by Lactantius Jr. (United Kingdom), Nov 23, 2006 at 05:40

To Fatima with love

Lovely to hear that the love of God you read about in the Bible melted your heart. God's unconditional, unearned, unending love is so very precious, and at its very heart the Bible says that "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him."

John 3:16-17

Inking it in emphatically, by saying,

"Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation."

Romans 5:7-9

and when the Holy Spirit's on our case, He produces this lovely nine-flavoured fruit in us, enabling us to love others as He loves us, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Galatians 5:22

the Holy Spirit Who produces this fruit, inspiring the Apostle Paul to write the following two passages about loving others,

Love Is the Greatest

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

"Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others, never finish paying that. For if you love them, you fulfill all the requirements of God's law. You won't hurt them, want what they've got, steal from them or kill them, and you won't sin sexually with another man's wife. These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law."

Romans 13:8-10

With our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ replying thus, to one of the religious teachers of His day,

"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses? Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbour as yourself.' "

Matthew 22:36-39

How hymn writers have tried to put into words, the amazing love which drew them to the Saviour, and if you have a sound card and speakers on your PC Fatima, have a listen to the following, and look at the words,

"Love Divine All Loves Excelling" (my favourite tune being Blaenwern) http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/d/ldalexcl.htm

"Oh Thou Who Camest From Above" http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/w/h/twhocame.htm

"O Perfect Love" http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/p/operflov.htm

"Love Lifted Me" http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/l/lliftdme.htm

"Here Is Love Vast As The Ocean" http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/e/herelove.htm

Sitting at the keyboard Fatima, I've been listening to these lovely hymns, and finish with this one, based on Psalm 23, "The King of Love My Shepherd Is," wonderful words about a wonderful King of Love.

"The King Of Love My Shepherd Is" http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/k/i/kinglove.htm

Thank you so much Fatima for writing as you have, and for the pleasure responding to you has given me.

With love in Jesus

Lactantius Jr.

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your heart as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."

Ephesians 3:14-21

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