God earnestly desires for us to know how to love one another. But in order to do this, we must first have a good understanding of His love for us, and the ways in which He desires for us to love Him in return.

In everything, God gives us an example to follow, whether it's in relationships, character, provision, or servanthood. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of Christ as dearly loved children. Children mimic what they see and hear others doing. When we imitate God - especially in how well we love one another - we show the world that we truly belong to Him.

God loves us with an unconditional, everlasting love. There's nothing we can do to stop Him from loving us. This was made evident in that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The Bible also tells us in 1 John 4:19 that we love God because He first loved us. By sowing seeds of love into our lives, God is able to reap the harvest of that love through our obedience to Him.

God's love is amazing because it transcends all barriers and is based on a commitment to His Word. For hundreds of years mankind was promised a Messiah who would arrive one day to die for man and rescue him from the hand of sin and death.

Just consider for a moment how great that love is! It's a love that is in hot pursuit of you. It's trying to run you over!

Be Filled With His Fullness
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 3:19, "I pray that you may know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." Love is the avenue to being filled with everything God has to offer - His grace, power, wisdom and anointing.

The only way to receive these things is to have an intimate knowledge of Christ's love. How? By reading and studying His Word on a daily basis. Fellowship with Him is the key to receiving all He has to offer.

However, you cannot comprehend God's love with your natural mind. To put it simply, it just can't be done. Revelation knowledge - supernatural understanding - is needed in order for you to grasp how great God's love really is.

Revelation is comprehension imparted into our spirits from the Holy Spirit and then transmitted to our minds. In other words, it's understanding that moves from the heart to the head.

For example, before you became born again, someone told you how to get to heaven. You knew (head knowledge) that Jesus was the only way. However, the Holy Spirit illuminated that knowledge by revealing your need for Christ (revelation knowledge), and for the first time ever you became aware of the sinful state you were in. As a result of that supernatural understanding, you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.

The same principle applies to God's love. You can study it until you're blue in the face; however, unless the Spirit of God reveals the importance of love and the greatness of God's love for you, you will not be able to experience the fullness of God.
That's why it's vitally important that we ask and believe for revelation. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us through illustrations, examples and any other way, so that we can understand how deep God's love is.

Now, the only way for you to receive revelation like that is by maintaining your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. There is no other way. Spending time with God consistently and on a daily basis opens the door for Him to speak to your heart. And not only that, but time spent with God equals more of His character deposited in us.

Think about it. The Bible tells us in Exodus 34:34-35 that Moses had to cover his face after spending time with God. Why? Because the glory of God was all over him. It's impossible to spend time with God and not be affected in some way. That's when the world takes notice of who He is and who we are.

God's Love Is Tough
God's love is marked by discipline. In other words, His love for us is not measured by how much grace He pours out on us but by His correction. Paul mentioned this fact in Hebrews 12:5-10; let's take a look at verse 5 in the King James Version: "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him."

Most of us look for the side of love that helps us feel good about ourselves. However, according to Hebrews 12:5-10, the true proof of love is in a person's honesty. In other words, he loves you enough to tell you when you are wrong.

That doesn't always give us warm, fuzzy feelings, but it helps us in the long run. If someone tells you he loves you and then lets you go on doing the wrong thing, he is lying. His actions would not be aligning up with his words.

Love Through Discipline
Discipline shapes character. Just as a parent corrects a child in order to train him properly, so likewise our heavenly Father disciplines us for our own good. He desires for us to live victoriously in this world and to experience the magnitude of His blessings; however, that's impossible to do if we are still spiritual babes, unable to handle everything He gives to us.

It's important that we not frown on God's discipline. He's not some giant god who wants to ruin all your fun. In fact, John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give us abundant life. That doesn't sound horrible to me!

God disciplines us so that we can become more like Him in everything we do. That's the only way the lost will come to know Him. And it also shows us how much He truly cares for us. I mean, He could just let us get in trouble and not lift a hand to help.

But God is not like that. He wants the best for us, and discipline is a way of ensuring that we get His best. That's why Proverbs 3:11-12 says, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

Jesus said the same thing in Revelation 3:19: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." In other words, "Don't get upset at Me if I correct you about something. I only discipline those I love. So repent, and change your heart, mind and direction!"

He Is in Love With Us
God is in love with us. And because of that love, He corrects us and shows us the way we should go. As we spend time in His presence daily, love is deposited in our hearts and stirred up by the Holy Spirit. As a result, we are strengthened in our inner man to share God's love with those around us.

It's impossible to dwell in God's presence and not be affected by it. It's in that place of prayer that we are equipped to meet the needs of the world around us. We can't do anything on our own strength and in our own love.

Human love is conditional and tires easily, while God's love is unconditional and everlasting. It ushers in the anointing of God and challenges us to operate on a higher level of spirituality. God's love is the ultimate source of power and provision.

And with His love as the motivating factor behind all we do, nothing will be impossible for us.

Source: Lord, Teach Me To Love by Creflo A. Dollar, Jr.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers