Although the scriptures never recorded the Lord saying that He “loved” Abraham, or that Abraham suddenly became a zealous, godly man, we can see that his being called by God was so powerful that it resulted in a lifelong pursuit of His Person — a pursuit that was thorough and intense. Abraham was so attracted by his first encounter with this Person in His glory that he would, in time, willingly leave his old land, his relatives, and his father’s house (Gen. 12:1). This attraction helped Abraham to live a life of constantly gazing at the Lord. Throughout Abraham’s lifetime of God’s repeated appearing to him, we see Abraham’s deepening and transformation until he could own the reality of his faith, to be firmly anchored in it — not in worldly assurances — and to own God and be owned by Him. Abraham’s experience is not unique; all those who love the Lord receive God as the Person of love in our believer’s walk.
Although “love” doesn’t seem to be the major theme of Abraham’s journey on the earth, it is the first and most crucial matter for anyone of this called-out race to be able to enter into this intimate relationship with God. Indeed, love is the first fruit of our justification, followed by grace, peace, hope, life, and glory (Life-Study of Romans, message 9). Abraham was not strong throughout his life in following the Lord, but Paul still chose him as our example of justification in the book of Romans (4:1-25). Though not perfect, his believing was a reaction to the love of God. And this love, in its encompassing and subjective experience by Abraham, not only formed the solid foundation of his faith, but also led him to enjoy God in a personal way as grace. He was covered and secured in this relationship so that he could have hope in God’s promise. This intimate, substantial, and progressive love strengthened and secured Abraham’s faith. As a result, he believed Jehovah, and the Lord accounted it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3).
This believing in — and resulting righteousness of — God’s pursuing love has continued throughout the whole Bible. Today, His love still stands as our entrance into this relationship as children of God and as spiritual descendants of Abraham experiencing this same faith (Gal. 3:6-7). The Lord has pursued us with this love from the very beginning. He desires to have a people who simply enjoy Him and rely on Him as their only source, a mutual satisfaction for God and man. When we receive this love and give ourselves fully to our Husband, we enjoy this ultimate satisfaction of becoming His glory and expression as the church, the Lord’s dear bride who loves Him back.
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 7/3/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)