How Do We Love?

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

As a young girl my Heavenly Father whispered tender words  to me through his bible lessons. He promised to overcome my fears of the darkness. Not one scary monster penetrated his noble shield of protection.

He pointed and revealed the glowing celestial patterns swirling in the starry night. His morning light shone and a dark red rose bloomed in an unexpected place.

But turning my head away from his kindness, I followed the world’s ways. However, I soon collapsed from despair.

But he patiently waited.  Once again his loving kindness gave me strength.  His merciful love forgave me and he steadied me to my feet.

Standing, I watched his shield repel all the fiery arrows.  At that moment, a love sparked in my soul.

My Savior deserved my devotion and has divinely nourished me with his pure and perfect unchanging love.

W. Birch, states the mutual love between the Christian and his Lord is the heart music of life (2011).

God dearly loves us in the same way He loves Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the good angels. Although our weak, fragile, and sinful character often misleads us, His pure love penetrates our hardened exterior.

Only through the overflow of God’s love can a father’s love for his child be noble. Unconditional love pours from God to the parent, and then to the child.

In the same way only when a mother’s heart aligns with Christ will her love sing a beautiful melody. A husband’s love can not be steadfast without God’s unchanging presence.

Even love for our friends requires God’s endurance to bear with each other’s burdens (W. Jones, 2010) .

C. H. Spurgeon, states love must be divinely nourished. Love muliplies. Christ loved us. We love Christ because He deserves to be loved.

Jesus Christ came to earth and lived a perfect life free from sin. He willingly surrendered his life to take our punishment for our sin.

However death did not have the final say. On the third day, Jesus rose again and now lives in Heaven.

In movies, maidens often promised their hand in marriage to a knight for some valiant deed. Jesus deserves our love, because he laid down his life for us.

God reveals his love to us in different ways. He provides food everyday for us as clearly as He provided manna for his people in the desert. But how many times do we sit down to eat without thanking our Eternal Provider?

All the mercies of our life are delivered from his hand. The near miss at the traffic circle, the mysterious health improvement, and all the safe deliveries. But how likely are we to shrug it off as a coincidence? A needless worry?

E.H. Bradby states we are never happy until we love God (God’s Love to Us and Ours To Him). Until our surrender we will continually struggle. However, once we draw near to our Lord, he draws us close. In Jesus, we find love and joy.

Here’s a prayer from my heart to yours:

Heavenly Father, I praise you for your divine, perfect, and unchanging love. Wrap your comforting arms around the person reading this and pour your Holy love into their soul. I thank you God, the Son, for your loving obedience to rescue our souls. I ask you Holy Spirit to reveal to my reader how to love those in their lives well, to point them to you. Help us to see your hand moving in our lives and we thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given us.

In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.

Thank you for reading! If you would like more encouragement, feel free to connect with me on Instagram.

References:

Birch, W. (2011). God and Humanity. Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/birch/love_god_and_humanity.htm

Jones, W. (2010). God’s Love and Ours. Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/jones/god’s_love_and_ours.htm

Spurgeon, C.H. (2011). Love. Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/love.htm

 

 

 

 

 

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