Love is a spirit of goodness. Love is a space giving happiness, attraction, affection, kindliness and many other feelings of goodliness. It is divine, of a heavenly nature.
By PROSPER TINGINI
It emanated from the Lord our God, who then spread it across the universe. He implanted it onto our world so that the creatures upon it, including humans, could cultivate it and grow it for the benefit of all. It gives peace of mind, tranquillity and binds all creatures of the world together as a unifying force. Love has a magnetic effect, a cohesion of souls.
Love started in the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was “good”. In essence God “loved” the light he had created. He thus loved his first creation. He felt good about it. He expressed it (Genesis 1:1-5) (end of first day).
Still at creation, God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called seas. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:9-10). God again loved what he had created and felt good about it. There is thus a godliness to love, as it attracts some good to it (end of second day).
On the third day God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” . . . And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:11-13). Again God loved what he had created. Good breeds love. The two go hand in hand.
God said thereafter, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” . . . And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:14-19) (End of fourth day). Again God loved what he had created and felt good about it. There was a happiness and contentment attached to the goodness. There was a spirit of love in the air. It was love itself in creation, through God’s spirit.
On the fifth day God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens”. So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw it was good (Genesis 1:20-21). At each and every step of creation, God expressed the goodness of his creation. He expressed his love for his creations, both of the living and the non-living. He was giving birth to the expressions and feelings of love. It was the birth of his love for everything upon this planet, the love for his creations. Then came the final and sixth day of his creations. He said, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” . . . And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:26-31). He loved all that which he had created.
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Yes indeed God saw everything he had created and was amazed at the goodness of it all. God thus expressed his love for everything which he had created. The seeds of love were thus implanted into this world through the spirit of the Almighty God. His love spread through the whole spectrum of the universe. Most importantly he loved his creation of humanity more than all other of his creations. Mankind was thus the coronation of his likeness. We became the cornerstone of his love, and that is why he exalted us and gave us dominion over all other creatures of the earth.
God’s love for humanity is beyond measure. In his likeness he created us. In his likeness we must also love others among us. In his likeness we should love one another. It became important for God to grow his love and to spread it among humankind. He wanted to spread the good feelings of love to create a oneness between himself and us. Love became the driving force to keep God and us together. Love became the backbone to keep humanity together. Love became the driving force to keep all the creatures of the world together.
The love for one another is now a commandment given to mankind by the Lord our God. At Mt Sinai, through Moses, He instructed humanity (Leviticus 19:18): “You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself; I am the Lord”. In Leviticus 19:24, God expanded on this to include all other people outside the inner circles, saying, “The stranger who is in your midst shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God”. Whenever God says, ‘I am the Lord your God’, he is putting his signature to his words. Jesus Christ, the Son, adopted this commandment of his Father. He taught us that it was the most important of all, second only to the love we should show to the Lord our God.
In Matthew 5:44-48, Jesus expanded on the expressions of love, saying, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward has you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. In the likeness of the Lord our God, we must love everybody around us without discrimination. We often read and it is said that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to save the world from sin. True to form, Christ sacrificed his own life for the forgiveness of our sins. What greater love is there than this? Jesus Christ spoke (John 15:12-14); “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
Love comes in various forms. At giving birth, a mother (of man or beast) has a natural in-built instinct to love and protect its offspring. This is an implanted spiritual feeling of creation in the same manner as God loved all his creations. We also have a romantic feeling between two people which brings bonding between the two. To forgive is to love, thus bringing love across to our foes or to those who have wronged us. There is the general love we show towards one another or of the love for each other of all the other different species of the creatures of the earth, that brings togetherness and promotes cohesion and survival to all. Love is an important element in all life. Without it there would be total disintegration of society, whether of humans or of animals, birds, sea creatures and all other creeping things on earth. Love is good.
l Prosper Tingini is the assembly president of the newly-established and registered Children of God Missionary Assembly. As an interdenominational body, we invite all who wish to undertake Bible Studies with a view to be certified as ministers of religion to contact us on 0771 260 195 either by voice, SMS or WhatsApp. Email address: [email protected]
