Theo 104 Research Paper

Ashley Simmons
THEO 104
Reflection Paper #1

Introduction: God gave us two gifts, life and love. God has given us the ultimate gift of love, by sacrificing his only son to give us eternal life. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." God has endless love for us, even though we are sinners by nature, his love is never ending and never changes. John 4:8 says “God is love,” people have different views on what love means to them, but the true meaning of love is what God gives us.
Love:
A lot of people may think they know the real definition of what love means, but many don’t even come close to understanding exactly what it
Our love for others is usually based on how they treat us, and what they do for us. Even though we could do nothing for God, He still loved us with no doubt. God has created in us feelings, and a heart. In the book Praxis, they say that giving your heart to Jesus is like jumping into the lap of a parent and looking to them for guidance. When you give God your heart, you are trusting Him with your life, emotions, feelings, and you are trusting Him to guide your life in the right direction. In my life, I try to love the people around me the best way I can because I know I would want the same from them. I try to take what I learn from God’s Word and what He says about love and how we should use it and use it in my life to the best of my ability. Knowing that God has endless love for me, and how He says we should love our neighbor’s as we love ourselves is a constant reminder for me to be kind to others, and give them love and help whenever they need
John 8:12 says, When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." If you believe in God, and follow what His plans are for you, He will only give you things to help you and make you prosperous, never things to harm you. John 14:6 says “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to my Father, except through me.” Basically, if you want to have eternal life there is no other way to do so unless you have faith in God, and believe His Word. If a man does not believe in God, and doesn’t follow in His ways, he makes up his own rules, his own ideas of how life should be lived and sets up his own failures. The main reason we were created was to fellowship with God, and worship Him. When man doesn’t have a relationship with God, he feels an emptiness and is dissatisfied. He can not be truly content with his life unless he has the Holy Spirit working in him. To be saved by God, you have to accept that God is who He says He is and accept Him as your savior, then you have to repent and confess your sins to God. God is very forgiving, and He says if you confess all your sins to Him he will forgive you. After you do all that, you are born again, and have started your relationship with God. In the book Praxis they say that “The new life God brings about is truly an amazing act of His graciousness and