Kingdom Love Life

By Ron McGatlin

As the kingdom of God from heaven continues to invade Planet Earth in the hearts and lives of God’s kingdom people, a greater depth of spiritual life with God is occurring. One of the most significant aspects of deeper spiritual life is our love relationship with God. God’s maturing sons in the kingdom age are experiencing an intimate love relationship with God that few if any experienced in the passing religious church age.

One of the great mysteries of life is why such an awesome God would love each of us personally? How can such a great big God even know that I exist, much less be concerned for me and love me enough to die for me?
 
Job 7:17: What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him.
 
Psa 8:4: What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
 
Rom 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 
The kingdom love relationship is a deep love communion with God. It is greater and much more consuming than just knowing that He loved us and gave Himself for us at the cross. Knowing that God loves us and spared not His only Son to save us certainly gives us a great understanding and appreciation of the love God has for us. However, being in a personal intimate love relationship with God consumes our entire life and lifts us into a whole new intensity of spiritual life.

Considering why He made us and why He saved us begins to direct us toward the greatest fulfillment of all life. Our greatest significance in life is to fulfill God’s design and desire for us. God’s primary purpose for our lives is to become one with Him in a love relationship. Jesus said the greatest of all commandments is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind (Mat 22:37-40). God made man in His own image to intimately relate to Himself (Gen 1:27).
 
We exist for the primary purpose of being in love with God. We are His desire.
 
Just as there is emptiness in man when separated from God, there is something missing in God when we turn away from Him and will not come to Him. There is a lack in the purposes of God when we are apart from our Husband, Jesus, who loves His Bride passionately and deeply.

This longing of God for us, and the spiritual longing in man for intimacy with God is very similar to the longing one feels in the natural realm when separated from a dearly loved one. The joy that one feels who is in love with God, when coming into His presence and intimately relating to Him, is very similar to the joy one feels in the natural when one is reunited with and embraces a dearly loved one; there is total joy and peace with a strong sense of fulfillment.

Spiritual oneness with God is His plan for His Bride, and is the ultimate fulfillment in life.

Probably one of the closest things in the natural realm to being in love with God is romantic love for our husband or wife. Yet often this natural love can fade or be abused and can be very disappointing at some point, and it may never be fully satisfying. However, God will never disappoint His Bride. His love is forever fresh and complete. We can fully trust our lives to the love of God. God, unlike man is always faithful and will always have an adequate supply of whatever we need to become all that God desires for us to be and all that we need in order to experience fullness in life.
 
Giving our lives to God and living in intimate oneness with Him assures the most productive and prosperous life possible. We will be prosperous in the total sense of all areas of life. God will supply encouragement, comfort, discipline, strength, guidance, and anything else needed to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
 
There is nothing in life that is as valuable as intimately relating to God.
Yet many people busy themselves with many other things that are of much less value. In any modern city, people are rushing about and are often stressed in an attempt to get somewhere and do something. The pressure of a busy fast-paced life can take a heavy toll on the body, soul, and spirit (Luke 10:40-42).

It is possible to remain so busy about so many things that we no longer notice the longing and emptiness of our hearts for the God who loves us and gave Himself for us. Have you ever stopped to consider how God must feel as His heart longs for His Bride to come and be with Him, and yet she continues day after day rushing about busy about many things but missing the most valuable thing of all?
 
In the kingdom age God’s people are re-evaluating our motives for living the very busy lifestyles we have lived. Some are changing the costly high standards of elevated natural societal life which we may have had, that has cost too great a price. We spent our lives to get things that did not give us what we really wanted or needed. We left our first love and sold ourselves to buy bread that does not satisfy.

In the kingdom age God is calling out for His people to STOP spending their lives for that which does not satisfy.

Isa 55:1-3: "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you; The sure mercies of David.

Come to the waters of the Spirit of God pouring refreshing love into our souls bringing real life in love with the One who loves us unconditionally. Truly the fountains of life flow within us, springs of living water from heavens deepest river of God’s love.

 I John 7:38:  "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Not only are we to be in love with God as bride and wife of our Lord Jesus. But, we also love God and are loved by Him as our Father.

 Jesus is the Father to His children. He said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is the Everlasting Father (Isa 9:6).

Our natural God-given love relationships are to be reflections of our Spiritual love relationship with God. Our unconditional and passionate love for our wife or husband is a natural replica of our spiritual love as the bride/wife of Jesus. The natural God-given love of a father and child is another replica of our spiritual love relationship with God.

As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual.

A godly earthly father knows the depth and undying continual love he has for His sons and daughters. He would give his life in an instant to save the life of his child. He knows the deep desire to provide for and protect his children. He sincerely delights in being with his children. While they are small he loves to play and frolic with them, to roughhouse with the boys, and sip make believe tea with the girls. He loves to help guide the bike when the training wheels are first removed, all the while encouraging and affirming his children. Children in his home feel very safe and know their strong father is there to take care of them. They know the rules and boundaries that he lays down are for their protection and feel very safe within them. They have an awesome respect and love for their father. And though they may not fully realize it at the time, they will come to appreciate his strong discipline that results from their disobedience and brings correction to their lives.
 
But what the children may not know is the great feeling of loss their father feels when he is apart from his children. They do not know the great heartache in their father when they pull away from him or rebel against him and his ways. Many natural fathers have gone to an early grave with a broken heart caused by rebellious sons or daughters, who some way really never knew how deeply their father loved them, never knew how much he wanted to walk with them through life. They had always thought about how much they needed their farther, and never even considered that he needed them, longed for their love and presence in his life, needed to hold them and give them his love and affection and receive theirs unto himself.

Kingdom Replica

As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual. Our Heavenly Father is perfect in His love for us and will always be consistent in caring for us. He will always provide the direction, correction, training, and strength for our lives if we will come to Him. But what He really desires is to hold his sons and daughters on His big lap and love them. He delights in the joy of being with His children, and if your religious mind can handle it, He loves to play with His children. As His children grow up He will stand beside them with His big arm around them, face the whole world and say, This is by beloved son; in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.
 
It does not really matter if we had a godly natural childhood or not. Jesus came to fix all that is lacking. His blood, His grace, His mercy, His love is sufficient to completely renew and put into place anything that is lacking in our lives. We are adopted sons and daughters through Jesus and are joint heirs with Him. His heritage is our heritage, and we can now come boldly into the presence of our heavenly Father and experience all that was lacking and live a full and abundant life with Him.
 
Only after we really know the love of our Father and are in love with our Husband can we carry out the second greatest commandment, which is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

His Love in Us for One Another

Mat 22:37-39:  Jesus said to him, "’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

The internal spiritual love from our spiritual Father and Husband is reflected out from us into the world toward our siblings (brothers and sisters in the Lord) and our neighbors (those nearby). By love, we have Gods heart for them. By His love, we see Jesus in our brothers and sisters and love Jesus in them as we love them with deeds of kindness, acceptance, support, mercy, affirmation, thankfulness, and even correction when needed. By love, we share His heart for the lost who wonder about as sheep without a shepherd. By His love, we feel His concern for the sheep that have gone astray. By His love, we can see the plight of the lost and seek to do all we can to bring them to Jesus. By love, we have compassion and sincerely care for those who persecute us and spitefully use us.

The outworking of the love of God in us fulfills all the laws of God. Obedience to the ways of God is a natural product of our love for Him. Power and strength to live righteously flows in and through us as the love of God brings the grace of God into our lives and gives us the power to do the things we could not do in our own strength. God works in us both to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil 2:13).  His desires are fulfilled in us by His power, and we become profitable sons in His great kingdom family (Heb 2:10).  Then the ways of God from heaven become our ways of life on earth and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Mat 6:10).
 
His ways are the most prosperous ways of life. We will be better sons or daughters and do a better job of whatever we are given to do. Because we do it better, we will reap more and will enjoy more of His abundant life (2 Cor 9:6) (Gal 6:7-10).  His love in us will cause us to be better parents, better teachers, better doctors, better businessmen, better government servants, better ministers, and better workmen of every sort. Living His way will cause less loss and waste from foolish activities and mistakes.

Is there anything as important as being intimately in love with God in our lives?

Keep on pursuing Love. Love never fails
and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

http://archive.openheaven.com/ - archive.openheaven.com
mailto:basileia@earthlink.net - basileia@earthlink.net

In the kingdom age God is calling out for His people to STOP spending their lives for that which does not satisfy.

Isa 55:1-3: "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you; The sure mercies of David.

Come to the waters of the Spirit of God pouring refreshing love into our souls bringing real life in love with the One who loves us unconditionally. Truly the fountains of life flow within us, springs of living water from heavens deepest river of God’s love.

Ron