God is Love!

One of the most impressive memories I gratefully cherish is of the altar area of Methodist church in my hometown (Bagansiapiapi, Riau province, Indonesia). On the wall - above the big cross, approaching ceiling - there are four big Chinese characters " 上帝是愛 ". They read "Siong7-Te3 si7-ai3" in Hokkien or "Shang4di4 shi4 ai4" in Mandarin. The meaning is "God is Love", a direct quotation from I John 4:16 [I John = First letter of St John the Apostle, not to be confused with Holy Gospel written by him also.]

You may question why I capitalize the word "Love".... :) The reason is quite clear, the Love referred to here is the Perfect Love i.e. God Himself.

This very fact of the Gospel is a very good news for us. Indeed Gospel means Good News! God is Love, so why should we deprive ourselves of His Love? Why don't we believe in Lord Christ Jesus, the Incarnation of the most Loving God?

"For God so loved the world [i.e. all human beings] that He gave His only begotten Son [i.e. Lord Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life [Greek: zoe = Life of God, not only psyche] ." [Holy Gospel according to St John 3:16]

If God is so loving, why there is hell? Why doesn't this Most Loving God just give eternal life to all of us? Well, actually He intends to! The very nature of love is not coercive but persuasive. He is calling us all to come home, to release our stubborn cling on hell's gate and to take His nail-pierced Hands. He is knocking at our heart's door, to come in and turn our hell into heaven. Why should we stubbornly resist His Love and choose sin i.e. death instead?