A Pastor’s Thoughts: The Love of God

By Pastor Wayne Sibrava, Living Water Baptist Church —

The “love of God” is the single greatest force that the world has ever known. To experience God’s love goes beyond words. 

I still remember when I experienced God’s love personally for the first time back in 1974. I had joined the United States Air Force and had gone through basic training and technical school. I found myself at Travis AFB during the Vietnam War. I was afraid and lonely, having never been away from home. 

I was looking for some direction and purpose in my life. It was a very difficult time. Soon I met another airman, and we became roommates. Peering into his life, I noticed that his life was dramatically different from mine. He had purpose and meaning, and so I began to study his habits. I wanted what he obviously possessed. 

He read his Bible, he prayed, he went to church, he sang in the choir. However, there was still something deeper about him. It was his relationship with God. My friend shared with me that he had confessed his sins and had accepted Jesus as the payment for them. He had invited Jesus into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior.

As a result of my conversation with my friend, I began attending church with him. It was different from anything I had ever experienced. I heard it said that God loves me, that Jesus died for me, and that I must confess my sin and invite Jesus to be my Lord. In 1974 I made this decision. As a result, I experienced the love of God for the first time, personally.

In all these 51 plus years since, I have discovered several things about God’s love. The single greatest and well-knownBible verse is John 3:16: For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. In this one verse, I discovered that God’s love is unconditional. God loves this world unconditionally. 

Second, I learned that God’s love is sacrificial. God loves this world unconditionally, and so He gave His only Son to pay for the sins of the world.

Third, I learned that God’s love is confrontational. That is, in order to experience God’s love personally, we must accept the free gift of God, which is His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Finally, I learned that God’s love is forgiving. If a person accepts God’s free gift of Jesus, God will forgive their sins, and they will experience God’s love in a personal way.

In 1974 I heard the Word of God, the Bible, preached. I understand that God loves me, Jesus died for me, and that I must trust Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. As a result, my sins were forgiven. I now have eternal life, and when I die,I know for certain that I will go to heaven.

As I write these articles, I always appeal to those who read that they will accept God’s love found in Jesus and, as a result, have eternal life. I pray often for Owego, the Southern Tier, and the world that it would be so.