God is love; love is out of God. Without God there is no possibility for love.  Prior to creation there was nothing but God.  Space was not.  The creation of the deep was a walling off of His presence from a place that was now empty and void, the creation of space.  The reality of the Trinity of God was now at work in a way that separated their works for the purpose of God's being in a place that He was now not.  The Word became the agent of creation and the peaceful and loving Spirit of God, who draws no attention unto Himself, lifts up the Word and draws the elect unto the brightness of God's unapproachable, living, and unending light.

Anything that is to be brought into existence must by nature be lesser than God.  This does not mean imperfect but not infinite, having a beginning and an end.  This infinite living light of God, being walled off from this new void, spoke into the void and light, being created energy that cannot be infinite, overtook the darkness of the void, which was then separated from the void.  This newly-created light became the energy that is the source of life and things.

The life that all creatures possess is temporary and must by nature burnout as it is a measured and created light consisting of non-infinite energy.  All life that consists of this created light has the same end; life simply burns out and the remnants of its heat are disbursed into the void.  Men and animals alike face the same end, as the preacher of vanity and wisdom has said.

Mankind was formed out of the same energy that all other living things possess.  The difference between mankind and all other life is that the LORD God breathed portions of His walled-off light into the nostrils of this one to be made in the image of God.  It became a possession of each living human that will never burn out as the spirit of each person consists of eternal light.  This does not mean that men are a god.  All light given to each person, if collected and measured, would be no thing at all if measured against the One who is light.  This does make men eternal; infinity has no beginning or end whereas being eternal suggests that there is no end but a beginning was present.

Because of this light that is the life of men, all have potential for good but the good of man is not able to be separated from the sin of each person, making all good acts nothing more than benevolence.  Truly good acts are certainly possible but these acts are not love.  They are permitted because of the goodness of God as He causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike.  This potential for benevolent acts seasons the earth with temporary peace and good but can be, and is, quickly overshadowed by sinful acts that prove that any good deed is nothing more than benevolence.  As Paul taught, you may give your body to the flames but it meant nothing if it was not rooted in love.

Love, which God is, was also walled off from space as well and was proven in the person of Jesus the Messiah, who is God in the flesh and is the very Word of God.  This is why John's letter revealed to us that "God's love was revealed to us in this way.  God sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him."  It does not say "that we might live."  We already possess life that is eternal, which may find its final abode in Heaven or the Lake of Fire.  It says "that we might live through Him."

Since love is not God, but God is love and love is out of Him, love is something other than God and it was made manifest through Jesus.  And since love is an expression of something and this something cannot be separated from God, and yet we find that love can be entered into, the only logical assumption is that love itself can only be found in this world through Jesus.  It is not for any to say that God can or cannot allow love to be shown through unbelievers.  There is no way to know.  But it can be said that God's manifestation of love was done through Christ, who died for the sins of the world, having shown the greatest expression of love by the laying down of His own life in behalf of others. 

This is why the Apostle John has said to the beloved ones of God to enter into love (see post entitled Origins).  The expression of love to the beloved ones has already been made known or else they would not be beloved ones.

There is a disconnect in the mind of believers that makes us think that we have entered into love because our sins have been forgiven.  This is not so.  The truth is that God loved us first without us loving Him and it brought unto the elect salvation from sin.

This is not to say that Christ did not show acts of benevolence.  The hearts of those who were fed by Him were not all changed as is testified to by the fact that most left Him when He would not be their King who would fill their bellies.  They refused to feast upon the love that is manifested through Him and therefore were left with empty bellies and hearts.  The entering into of the love that came only through Jesus is only evidenced by salvation.  Jesus' greatest expression of love was the giving of His life and He died for sins.  This means that His love reconciles sinners to God and then is made known in these beloved ones first through their own salvation and then, in time, through them as they become ambassadors of His love by seeking to reconcile others through the death of Christ.  This requires a manifestation of love through one redeemed person to another as they can only be saved through the preaching of the good news.

Though the traits of love are clearly seen through selfless acts, selfless acts can only be done through the love that is made known only in Jesus.

If God were to inject all believers with love by causing them to enter into love from the first then it would be no heart of ours that entered into love.  But God quickens love in an a believer by first causing dissatisfaction in the heart.  Acts of benevolence will only cover a person's foolishness for so long.  Even if a person masks their discontent with their acts of more benevolence a time will come when they can no longer carry the burden of a faithless system of good works that only brings glory to their self.  Over time, all true believers will manifest love, some quicker than others.  But the need to enter into love means that there will be a period of time when there is no love in the beloved ones.  Only that which was made known as God loved them while they were sinners will be realized at first.  Love later presents itself and can only be entered into after a believer has exhausted all attempts at good works and becomes sickened by the fact that their words are clanging symbols that might sound sweet to the ear but are still rooted in the selfish desires of common benevolence.  Love must come this way lest the formed vessel finds room to boast.  Love will become available only after the temporary peace of benevolence becomes dissatisfying.

The desire to enter into love can only come from God.  A person must be stripped of the need to be recognized before this will happen and failure is the sharp tool that uses to produce this desire.  When God moves upon a soul to bring awakening to these truths and He opens their eyes, it is confession of sin and unworthiness that flows first.  Until the creature recognizes that selfish acts of benevolence have been the mask of discontent they will not seek love, though they will bitterly fight for others to know that they do have real love.  This itself is evidence that love is not there as love does not boast, nor does it need to be recognized.  This is because pride is still very much rooted in their efforts.  But once seen for who they really are, believers will have cries of mercy that will reach His throne of grace.  While still blinded by their own efforts their prayers are their own.  Once revealed, prayers will be generated by the Spirit of God.  A saved soul may truly not yet know love.  But once found, the heart will know not to boast of any works because they reek of flesh.

After the opening of the eyes, confession of sin will give way to fearful thoughts concerning motives.  Every act must be questioned as to why.  Speech becomes slow and those duties that once brought feelings of freedom become a heavy burden.  This burden weakens the legs and brings feelings of deep despair.  Yet at the last minute, just before the soul gives into death, God makes known the way of love.  And because the prepared vessel no longer desires the burden of benevolence it enters into love.  Many mistakes will be made as motives are revealed but there will be a steady upward momentum that carries the believer into the manifestation of love in their own life.  An evidence of love will be that former enemies become pitied as they are seen as struggling souls and not as ones to avoid.

This is why the Apostle John said that "if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us."  There is a perfecting that must take place and if caution is not exercised through patience with others then no one will know that we are truly His disciples.  And since God desires His saints to take on a ministry of reconciliation He will bring them into love, but only after they have suffered through the persecution of their own conscience.  Take heart, God does not discipline those who are not His own.  And be encouraged.  If love is not real in you at this time it does not mean that God has not revealed His love for you in Jesus Christ.  The fact that you struggle with benevolent motives is a true sign that God will finish the work that He began in you.  The ministry of reconciliation will replace your benevolent attempts to show that you have love and you will know that it has come when God makes even your enemies to lay down their arms against you.