My younger daughter would always come close to me, give me a hug and say; “Daddy, I love you!” I always reciprocated the gesture with; “I love you too”. Sometimes, I don’t even wait for her to say it, I would go ahead to tell her how much I love her. Recently, when she did the same thing, my heart melted. It communicated a lot to me about God’s love.
Friend, how many times have you said to God; “Daddy, I love you!”? Yes, I know you love God and are sure that He loves you (1 John 3:1). But there is something powerful about expressing your love verbally. Love unexpressed is love unperceived. When love is expressed, it does not only affect the recipient, it also affects the giver.
Sometimes, to feel or have a sense of God’s love, you have got to love up on Him. You have got to say it. Your life follows your words. Your words affect your emotions which automatically affect your motions or actions. To act love, you have got to feel love by saying it. If you say you love God or someone, that love begins to flow more in and through you (Romans 5:5).
As a believer, you cannot and must not say that you hate someone (1 John 3:10-12). You simply do not have the capacity to hate someone as a new creation (2 Peter 1:4). This is why anytime you mistakenly say you hate someone, something scratches on your inside, you feel uncomfortable within even if your flesh seems cool with it. Don’t ignore that discomfort. It is a proof that you are born again (1 John 4:7-12).
“We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Don’t be afraid to say that you love God. This is not boasting in the flesh, it is culturing your spirit and emotions to follow the truth that you know and the conviction that you live by. What you say consistently, you would act eventually. Anytime your flesh is pulling hatred in you towards someone, say the opposite. Declare loudly that you love the person. You need to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
Live in the consciousness of God’s love by confessing it. If you have ever felt unloved, the problem is not always the presence or absence of love, it is your consciousness of it. Don’t let any day pass without basking in the consciousness of God’s love for you. This is the secret to victory. The atmosphere of love is the atmosphere of God’s presence which is the atmosphere of possibilities (John 14:21, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria