Genesis
22:2
FIRST USE OF “LOVE”
And he
said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee
into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of
the mountains which I will tell thee of.
The first mention
of love in the Bible occurs in the passage concerning Abraham’s willingness to
sacrifice his son, Isaac. This is a foreshadowing or “type” of the heavenly
Father’s sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus.
We are not told
that Adam loved his wife or that Noah loved his children, although it could be
argued that this unstated love was demonstrated. We are not even told that
Sarah loved Abraham. It is fitting that the first mention of love in the Bible
is a father’s love for his son. We begin to understand some basic concepts
about love: 1) Abraham loved his son as a father should, 2) Obedience to God
supersedes human love, 3) God loved Abraham and provided the ram to replace
Isaac, 4) God loves humans enough to sacrifice His beloved Son, Jesus, 5) As
God’s children we are to emulate His sacrificial love.
The first fruit
of the Spirit is love. Loving as the Father has loved us. Self-sacrificing love
for God and for people. This kind of love can only be cultivated in you if the
Holy Spirit is flowing through you. Because Father God willingly offered His
Son on the cross, those who believe are the beneficiaries of this tremendously
selfless gift of love. Once we come to accept and embrace the love of God our
Father, we are filled with His Holy Spirit who enables us to increasingly love
others as Jesus first loved us.
Have you
experienced the Father’s love? If you have, are you searching out ways to share
this love God so graciously bestowed upon you with those within the sphere of
your influence? Jesus freely gave His love. Freely give love to others.
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