Beautiful friends, I Thought I Knew What Love Was contains numerous reflections on the love of God. Many times we explore the depths of God’s love only to find out that there is so much more. On this journey with Him, each day provides more insight into His love. God is love. His very nature is love.

God is agape love. Agape love is self-sacrificing in nature, unconditional, and unwavering. Agape love is not based on the merit or behavior of the recipient. There is nothing we can do to earn this love. It is the very essence of the One we worship.

God demonstrated agape when He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for us. He sacrificed for the lovely, the unlovely, the wicked, and for those who will never reciprocate His love. I might choose to lay down my life for someone I thought was innocent. I might even surrender my life for a guilty person, if I thought they would eventually be saved. However, I am certain that it would take an act of God for me to sacrifice my only child for the world knowing some would still reject my love.

God loves us more than we can imagine. Here is an excerpt from I Thought I Knew What Love Was.

Agape

by Erin Lamb © Copyright 2011

“God’s message of love.”

I see you in your place of laughter,

your place of happiness,

and your place of hurting.

I see also your places of sorrow.

I embrace you in your times of tears,

and I dance with you in your times of jubilee.

I watch over you in the nighttime

and every second of the day.

I adore you,

despite any of your shortcomings.

I am in your past,

your present,

and in your future.

I delight in all that I have made.

I know you.

I am closer to you than any other being.

I have placed My covering over you,

and that covering is “Love.”

My name is Love;

that love is agape love,

an unfailing love.

I am the love that forgives you,

intercedes for you,

and I am the love that willingly took your place.

I am the love that has compassion for you,

wants to give you My best,

and so many wonderful things.

This is My love for you.

A love that seeks to fill you with more and more,

so your heart’s cup overflows.

I am the love that can never be replaced.

I invest in you.

I wait to meet with you.

I have given My life,

so you may live free.

I took the blame.

I took your shame,

so you could be with Me for a time without end.

My love for you will never disappoint.

My love does not fall short;

it cannot fail, and it can never be destroyed.

Even when you cannot see My love or sense My love,

it encompasses everything that surrounds you.

I have chosen you;

I selected you just for Me.

I cherish you.

I take pleasure in you.

You are My heart’s prize.

Every hair on your head,

I know them,

and I can tell you the length of every one.

Even if the entire world walks out on you,

please know that you are loved.

You cannot fathom

the way love was truly meant to be,

but if you ask for revelation,

I will tell you what I mean.

I love you

more than your achievements,

or lack thereof.

I love you more than your social standing.

I love you in your place of being outcast and feeling forgotten.

I love you past your points of weakness

and insecurity.

I love you past your imperfections,

though I can see each one.

I love you past your sinful nature.

My love is the reason I sent My only Son.

I watched Him hang there.

I watched Him suffer there;

the burdens of the world were weighing on His soul.

I placed Myself in harm’s way,

so you could find new life in Me.

You won’t find this love for you in any other place.

People have searched and searched,

only to still have emptiness in that place.

It is the place that was meant for only Me.

A God-shaped void cannot be filled

by frivolous earthly things.

I want to love you.

I long to love you.

Even if you turn and walk away,

I love you now, and I will love you always.

All rights reserved. No part of the material may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, without the written permission of the Publisher, Westbow Press (www.westbowpress.com), or Author, Erin Lamb. The only exception is in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Book available: http://www.westbowpress.com

Photo taken from Microsoft Clip Art.