The Senior Pastor of The Fountain of Life Church (TFOLC), Ilupeju, Lagos, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, has said that love is an enduring attribute of God’s nature and not just a feeling.
He also said love is a Noun, asserting that love is God. Pastor Jimmy, while speaking on what love is during the February 4 Sunday service, explained to the congregation, “Love is not a feeling you feel when you feel a feeling that has never been felt before.
“Love is God! God is love. God is the source, the originator of love. Love comes from God. That means any love that does not involve God in it is a counterfeit.
“You cannot give what you don’t have. You cannot give love unless you have God (love).”
Reading from 1 John 4:7, the Senior Pastor stated that the balanced equation of love involves God and the two individuals involved, noting that it is impossible to love without first having God in one.
“You cannot love people — your children, neighbour, and your spouse, if you don’t have love (God),” he said.
Citing Genesis 1:1; 3:6; 1 John 4:16-19; and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Pastor Jimmy connected love to light, adding that true love produces vision, information, and direction.
The cleric said, “The first thing love (God) produced was light. If it is love, it must produce light; and if it is light, it must produce vision, information, and direction.”
Relating this to marital relationships, the clergyman noted that any relationship devoid of God, light, and love would also be devoid of direction, meaning, and purpose.
Pastor Jimmy further told his listeners, especially the singles, that they have been created for a purpose, and finding that purpose and walking in it would define other things they do.
The clergyman said, “Singles, the most important decision you can ever make in life after giving your life to Christ is the decision of the person you choose to marry.
“There is a vision God has for your life. If you do not know the vision God has for your life, you have no business getting married. If your relationship lacks direction, it will lack light. If it lacks light, it will lack love. And if it lacks love, it lacks God.”
He, therefore, encouraged the congregation to see themselves through the lens of love, urging them to seek information, make decisions, and embrace a vision for their lives.
The service was concluded with a call to prioritize God’s love as the guiding force in all relationships.
Earlier in the service, Pastor Tolu Odukoya encouraged the congregation from Mark 11:23-24 not to be weary while waiting, but to trust God to come through for them, adding that God’s answers would surely come and would be a transition to a new level.
“When God makes you wait, He is building character in you, He is teaching you some things. The waiting period is a place of grooming, it’s a place of growth because when He answers you, it is a new level.
“So, don’t be weary in waiting. Waiting on your Father, He has something amazing for you. All you need is patience,” she said.
