Lesson 193. Accessible Love

If you want to have long-lasting problems in life, then all you need to do is be born into our world. As long as we live, we cannot avoid difficulties, trials, and adventures; whether we want them or not, they will come. But I decide how I will meet them and go through them.

There are unavoidable trials and processes that shape my character and personality, which I must pass through in order to become an independent person who makes wise decisions. And there are things that I myself bring and invite into my life, sometimes at my own expense, which destroy me and ruin my health, reason, and intellect, making me a slave to things, habits, or a way of life.

Our time differs from previous centuries in that the civilized world has discovered so many new things and introduced them into our daily lives, overwhelming people with so much information and so many opportunities to learn and possess whatever they desire, yet it has been unable to solve the problem of sin, give people happiness, teach them Love, or reveal the true beauty of God’s character.

Yet God is the true Owner of the Earth. And the first verse of the Bible speaks very clearly about this: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ If anyone understands our needs and problems, it is the Creator Himself. And knowing what would happen in the end, the Lord repeatedly warned that He would come, personally intervene in the course of human history, and put an end to sin, disease, grief, and suffering. And He fulfilled His promise.

We were given a Savior Who revealed to people the true character of God, gave them a correct understanding of God’s Love, gave them power to resist the influence of sin, taught us to love one another, and gave us hope of Eternal Life through knowing Him.

Everyone who decides to enter upon the path of life with God will encounter special resistance, and trials of faith will be inevitable, but God Himself will be that person’s protection and support in this choice. Supernatural trials will fall upon the believer, but supernatural strength will also be given to him.

But the most interesting part of a Christian’s life begins when he realizes that he has no Love and begins to thirst for it and plead with God for it. And the Lord answers this need, for it is God’s will that I should have His Love, know how to use it, and give it to others.

God is Love, and when I have this Love, together with it I also receive God; apart from Him, I will learn nothing.

When I receive Love for my neighbors, I enter upon a path of special trials and adventures. Problems fall upon me from every side. Within me there is a war between the flesh and God, in which I must give authority to one of them and submit my will. I choose Love, and victory comes.

The life of a loving person is filled with trials, but they are of an entirely different kind. I risk being killed or lost to Eternal Life, and the enemy of souls is constantly trying to draw me into his temptation. And when he fails, he tries, as far as possible, to make my life difficult and sorrowful. But beside me is the One Who has already gone through all this and knows how to gain victories and be happy. And He protects me and guards me on every side.

Jesus knows how dangerous the time in which we live is, and therefore He has decided to come personally into my life, take part in my wars, and give me His victory. There has never been a time when the Lord was so near to those who call upon Him. He has never abandoned His children, but in the last days He declares, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock...’ And it brings such joy to know that I can open this door to Him, accept His help in the struggle, and overcome.

The Lord declares that I am lukewarm, but at the same time He counsels me to buy from Him that which will make me hot. And His personal presence in my life will heat me to the necessary temperature.

Love brings me out of the lukewarm condition. It penetrates every area of my life and makes everything right. Why not have it? It cleanses my heart, gives meaning to everything, beautifies my life, teaches me to be happy at all times and under all circumstances, reveals to me the beauty of God’s character, gives me many friends, makes every trial bearable, preserves me from evil, and unites my heart with Jesus.

Why are people so afraid of this Love? Why are they opposed to such a way of life? Why are they ready to suffer and die in their sins, yet refuse to accept this power? Probably because they simply do not believe that it exists, that it is possible, and that it can be obtained so simply.

Many people are interested in the subject of Love; many watch, and many even click ‘Like’ and say, ‘Amen.’ But not very many decide to live this way.

When I ask for Love, God listens and begins to answer and act.

Let us take an illustration. A bank offers me a loan to build a house at 1.9 percent annual interest. And I decide to accept it. I come to the bank and ask them to issue the promised loan. They are glad to hear this and grant my request, and they ask whether I have a plot of land for construction, whether I have a plan for what I will build, whether I have permission to build the house, whether there are builders who will construct the house according to all the rules, whether I have an income with which to repay the loan afterward, and other questions.

The bank employees try to determine how reliable and honest I am. The money is not given to me simply so that I may have it; it is given for a definite purpose and a specific use. All my documents and plans are examined, and then, when everything meets their requirements, I am allocated the amount needed for construction.

This was an example from life. And if one considers it carefully, everything is arranged wisely, consistently, and correctly. But when I come to God and begin asking Him for Love, I pay no attention to the details and conditions for receiving this power.

Do I have a plan? Do I have a need? Do I have a purpose? Do I have permission? Who am I in God’s eyes? Am I trustworthy? Have I entered into a covenant with Him through water baptism? Have I been born again? For some reason, I do not ask these questions, but simply want to have something without fulfilling the conditions for receiving it or meeting God’s requirements.

The right to receive Love is given to me when I need it most, understand that I do not have it, and ask in order to receive it and give it away. It is precisely my sincere need and thirst to live and act in this way that open the windows of the Heavenly Bank, and I receive what I need so much.

It is naive to suppose that Love will always be available to me whenever I want it, that I can neglect the offer to acquire it and then obtain it at any moment; that it is something I can take from a shelf at a time convenient for me and use at my own discretion. Yes, it is accessible; yes, it is boundless and almighty, but it is selective. Love is not given merely for the sake of possessing it. It can be sampled without understanding its power, but receiving it requires knowledge and the ability to handle it, and this is given only by God.

And it is not difficult to acquire.

Does this seem like a paradox? Accessible yet impossible, easy yet difficult; God desires to give it, yet does not give it without purpose. A person who is wise in his own eyes will not receive it, while a little child of God has unlimited access to the riches of Heaven. But it is worth giving everything for it.

1. What new things did you learn from this lesson?

2. Why does the Lord allow trials in our lives?

3. How accessible is God’s Love? Why does not everyone receive it?

4. Why did Heaven give us a Savior?

5. Which prayers for Love does the Lord answer?

6. What advantages do those who love have?

7. Do I have obligations before God after receiving the long-awaited gift of Love?

8. Please read Isaiah 43:11–12, 15, 25; 45:2–3, 7–9; Psalm 91:14–16; Isaiah 44:3; Luke 11:33; 1 Corinthians 1:27–28; Psalm 51:16–17; John 8:32; 12:25–26; Matthew 7:7; James 4:7–8; Isaiah 58:4–11 in the light of our lesson.