Love has two sides. The obvious are giver and receiver. There is also the soft and tender side and the indestructible and strong sides of love.
Roses reveal both sides of love. Their velvety petals reveal the soft and tender side of love and their thorny stems reveal the indestructible and strong side of love. The thorns don’t detract from the beauty they protect the beauty and preserve it so we can experience its loveliness.
The Lord’s love is two sided. It is consistent, powerful, protective and purposeful. It is also compassionate, forgiving, merciful and supportive. At times the Lord’s love is soft and tender and at other times it is indestructible and strong.
The Lord’s love motivated Him to design the plan of salvation and it is also His love that carried out His plan to love us. Think about how often the scriptures declare that, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”
“God is love.” 1 John 4:8 & 16
God’s love reveals both sides of love.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“God show His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“The Lord disciplines the ones He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:6
“Those who I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:19
God calls us to love with a two sided love.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all mind.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
God didn’t create us with the capability to love only to love ourselves. God created us with the capability to love so we could love Him and others.
The youngsters song, “Love is like a lucky penny” helps us learn that love is to be two sided.
It teaches us that, “Love is something if you give it away.”
It teaches us that, “Love is like a lucky penny hold it tight and you won’t have any. Give it away you’ll end up having more!”
Love is also meant to be two sided when it comes to being indestructible and strong and soft and tender. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
About the author:
Don and his wife Brenda have been married 48 years. They have two married sons Jason/Crista and Nicholas/Heather and four grandsons Luke, Ryker, Blake and Drew. Don is a graduate of the Gateway School of Preaching, Fairview Heights, IL, the Bristol Roads School of Biblical Studies, Flint, MI and he has a bachelor’s degree in religious education from Michigan Christian College. He has been preaching since 1979. He has preached at Pacific, MO; Howell, MI; Arnold, MO; Festus, MO; Dexter, MO; and De Soto, MO where he has served since 2007. He also serves the congregation as one of the elders. Don has done campaigns and meetings in several states and mission work in Cuba, India, and Jamaica. Don refers to himself as a “Minister” because he loves ministering to others and helping them learn about Jesus and growing in their relationship with Him.
De Soto church of Christ 