This book deals with the importance of reaching out to others for Christ. It shows the reason and the purpose of His love - to redeem us and make us part of His nation. This is also what believers should be inspired by when sharing His love and word with others. They need to show them God's desire for their lives, and this is to be saved and receive His love.
What is the purpose of God’s love? Why did He send His Son to die on the cross? What do people understand about this important truth?
We need to start from the main point, our condition, the reason the Son of God left His throne and humbly came to earth to die for us. He came because we were lost. That is the reason, and this is where His love starts. The fact that people were lost and had no hope of saving themselves.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
Love means giving, and God showed his love for humanity by giving us a valuable gift. He gave what was most precious and important to Him – His only begotten son. He did that because we were lost. And what a great gift it is! Eternal life is something that lasts forever. We were dead in our sins with all hope lost. This gift is incomparable to any other.
The main purpose of God’s love is salvation, and this love is moved with compassion toward the lost. God wants to save them from suffering and pain beyond anything they can imagine. He wants to lead them to eternal life and joy. When talking about God’s love, we are referring to something that exceeds a romantic feeling, being kind, helping someone accomplish a task, or even assisting others suffering pain. It has to do with that, but its purpose is much greater, and goes beyond. It is about God’s suffering for us and His plan to save us. We must understand that all compassion and all kind acts toward others are because there is a God. He has created and placed those feelings within human beings. When they don’t know God, they are not moving in the right direction and don’t know how to make use of those feelings in the right way. It is knowing God’s truth that helps us move in the right direction, follow the right paths, and purify the motives for our actions. We are ignited by God’s compassion which points to what really matters, eternity. God’s love is not just about grand gestures but also includes seemingly simple acts of kindness. Still, they need to be inspired by God’s compassion. Only a born-again believer can feel that. Once people have a personal relationship with Christ, they should embrace love and give of themselves to others as much as they can. This should become their life’s purpose. How they choose to serve is up to them. They decide how they will live their lives, and are not forced to show love. Love is not forced. It is something we “love” to do and want to do. Once we have it, we can echo what the apostle Paul said: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15, emphasis added). When we have this type of love and live by it, we can say it “compels us,” but never feels forced.
When we observe examples of genuine love, we see that a person feeling love for his partner or family would do anything for them. Even if human love cannot be compared to God’s love, there are some similarities because it was created by God. However, it is still just a shadow of the great love God showed us on the cross. Often, we read in the scriptures about the love expected of believers. We are told to forgive, be patient, and bear with one another. But why is this required from us? What is the purpose? It is so that we can demonstrate God’s love to everyone. They can get to know Him through us and receive salvation. The purpose is salvation. If we want to lead them to the cross, we must show God’s love to them. Christ is the One who saves them, our part is just to lead them to Him. However, we cannot fulfill this task without showing His love and walking in His steps.