Revelation of Love
The great theologian Karl Barth was once asked what was the greatest theological truth that He had ever learned. He thought for a moment and then said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
This is a simple truth and yet I would imagine that for the majority of us this truth has not fully penetrated our hearts. We know in our head that God loves us, and yet we live as if we are not real sure about it. The love of God is so foundational and important for us to grasp. In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prayed for the church that they would really know the depth of God’s love: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Paul was praying for them because they needed a deeper revelation into the heart of God. Mental knowledge of God’s love was not enough, but they needed an experiential knowledge of God’s heart and God’s love that can only be revealed to the human heart by the Holy Spirit.
I have a favorite scripture that really captures God’s heart for his people: “The Lord your God is with you; he is might to save. He will take great delight in you; he will quiet you with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17
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This verse comforts us with God’s presence, and protects us with His power. Finally it overwhelms us with God’s passion. According to this verse, God takes great delight in his people. The phrase literally means festive pleasure. God thinks about his people and his heart explodes in glad celebration. He throws a party. When people turn from their sin and repent to discover God’s grace and forgiveness, Scripture says there is great rejoicing in heaven. Heaven throws a party when people turn to God. We think God can’t stand to get close to us. The truth is that God can’t stand to have us far away. He wants us to draw close.
God doesn’t just throw a rowdy party though. It also says He will quiet you with his love. It literally means that God will be quiet in his love for you. God’s love is so deep that words sometimes seem inadequate. Perhaps there are times that God becomes speechless when looks at you in love. The God who is never at a loss for words is moved to silence as he contemplates the depth of his love for you.
Then the silence is broken though. The words that come forth are not words of outrage or disgust. They are not critical words of disappointment or frustration. The silence is broken with …singing. Yes, I said singing. The verse said, “He will rejoice over you with singing.” God sings over you.
Singing enables the soul to express deeply felt emotions that mere speaking cannot do. When we sing, our hearts get more engaged. Something begins to happen deep inside as we sing. Not only does God speak to our hearts, and whisper to us, but best of all He sings. You may find it hard to believe, but scripture reveals a God who sings. The psalms declare that God surrounds us with songs of deliverance. You see, love is something that cannot just be spoken about. It must be sung about. That is why there are so many love songs. You have to sing about love. Our God sings. He sings of His love for you –for his people. He rejoices over you with singing. And that’s the Word.
