Welcome to our third week of diving into our understanding of God’s LOVE. The writing for our blog is taken from the chapter Damaged Spirits from my book Healing for our Soul Gardens. This week we are focusing on the concept that God’s love is the substance of what we all need. I look forward to hearing from you all your thoughts on this topic this week.
S U B S T A N C E
Earlier, I made a statement that God’s love is the substance of what we all need. What does this word substance mean? At the Free Dictionary Online website, substance is defined as:
1. that which has mass and occupies space, matter;
2. essential nature; essence;
3. gist; heart;
4. that which is solid and practical in character, quality or importance;
density; body.(1)
At dictionary.com substance is defined in part as: “that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material; form and substance.” (2)
So through both definitions, we understand that substance has a form; it is often viewed as a type of mass that occupies space; it is matter; it is solid; it is practical in character, quality, or importance; it has essence; it is the heart; it has weight; it is dense; and it has body.
Now look at love as a substance, the substance. Love has form; love is a type of mass that occupies space; love is solid; love is matter; love is practical in character, quality, or importance; love is essence; love has heart; love has weight; love has density; and love has body. That is God’s love. God’s love is not what we had viewed as love. God’s love is pure, clean, valuable, healing, restorative, generous, kind, and redemptive.
God’s love has always been, just as God has always been. God’s love took on the form of a man who became our Savior, Jesus. God’s love needed nothing else for its existence; it is absolute love, just like absolute substance. The substance of God’s love is the Trinity, and for us to embrace, understand, and accept love as a substance, we begin and end with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The fullness of God is the substance of love.
To receive God’s love is to receive the fullness of God through the Trinity. Each part of the Trinity is a dimension of God’s love. God the Father is the one who provides, protects, cares for, nurtures, disciplines, and mentors His children. He is our shelter, our strong tower, the I AM, our peace, our Creator, and all we need.
God the Son is who died for us and through accepting Him, asking for forgiveness of our sins, and letting Him into our hearts to change us, heal us, and restore us, we are reborn. Jesus is the Bridegroom, the chief cornerstone, the morning star, the Prince of Peace, the way, the truth and the life. There is no other way to the Father but through Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, and through Him we are redeemed, made clean, and placed in right relationship with God. He is the fullness of God’s love, the substance of God’s love, coming to earth and taking on man’s form, to walk as we do so that we could be redeemed.
God the Holy Spirit is a gift to every believer. He is our Counselor, the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. He is the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He is the gift that Jesus said would be coming after His death and resurrection, a part of the Trinity that was sent to lead, guide, counsel, and direct all believers.
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION
Wow, I don’t know about you, but just taking that all in can be overwhelming. It is a mouthful and so much to absorb. So let’s go back to that little girl in fifth grade who was told that God loved her. She did not know or understand what true and pure love was. She was scared; she felt unlovable and unworthy to be treated kindly. How many of you reading this right now feel this way? You agree that God is love, and that is wonderful for your friends, but for you, not so much. Your wall is up, that wall of protection, that wall that has kept you safe for so many years. In fact, you wouldn’t even know where and how to bring down your walls.
Let us start that process now. Let us stop and ask God, through prayer, to begin that work in us. Will you join me in prayer right now?
Dear God, Your love is but a scary thing to us. It is something that eludes us and is too much to grasp or understand. My thoughts go immediately to, But if You knew the real me, You would see there is nothing to love. Change our thinking this day, God. Help us to see ourselves through Your eyes, through Your love. Help us to not fear Your love, to not put our walls up to You Lord. Heal the wounds within us that stop us from being able to accept Your love. Open our eyes to see the truth, open our ears to hear clearly, and open our hearts to accept and receive Your love this day in our lives. Help us to understand these words we have read. May they penetrate our hearts and souls and allow another layer of hurt to be healed in us. We seek to know You, Lord, and not to fear You. Help us to do this. In Jesus’ name, amen.
(1) “Substance,” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/substance.
(2) “Substance,” (n.d.), Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved May 4, 2016, from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/substance.
Thoughts to Ponder:
- When you read about God’s Love as a substance, what were your thoughts on God’s Love for you?
- Knowing God Loves you and accepting God Loves you are two different things. Are you living a life of know or accepting of God’s Love?
- What are the obstacles to you accepting God’s Love for you?
For more information on Healing for our Soul Gardens book click this link: https://kristinclouse.com/product/healing-for-our-soul-gardens-book/
Kristin Clouse, a sexual abuse survivor, shares her story, her faith, and her professional experience as a licensed counselor, to walk with women through their healing process. Her story is one of redemption and restoration through Jesus. Kristin is an author, counselor, speaker, and mentor to women. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is the founder of The Restore Movement, which walks with women in their broken seasons into freedom and healing through bible studies, online communities, resources and conferences. Kristin is available to speak for your retreat or conference. For more information – www.KristinClouse.com and www.TheRestoreMovement.com.