Bible Verse: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16
Scripture Reading: John 3:16; Ephesians 3:14-19; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
The single most important word to describe God is love. I know you’ve heard it a million times, and you may even be tempted to skip over this entire devotional because you have heard it so often. But I promise you, you cannot exhaust the greatness of God’s love. God shows love because God is love. He doesn’t work at it; it simply flows from who He already is.
Yesterday we talked about how God is just. The cross is where justice and love converge. Judgment for your sin is carried out, but God absorbs the judgment on Himself in an astonishing act of love. God shows His love for you that even while you were dishonouring and offending Him, Jesus died for you (Romans 5:8-9). What does He ask in return? Have faith in Jesus, who is the embodiment of love. Then through His love, God adopts you and makes you His son (Romans 8:15).
You are part of a royal family and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17). God loves you so much that He isn’t willing to let you get away with doing things that destroy you or others, but He will discipline you and call you back to who you were always meant to be. He is a good Father who loves giving His children good gifts. He loves you so much that He delights in you (Zephaniah 3:17).
For decades, we have read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 at weddings, and called men to love their wives like Jesus loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25). Go back and look at 1 Corinthians 13 and read it through the lens of God’s love for you. The holy, eternal, all-powerful God is patient and kind. He is not irritable or resentful. He doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing, but He rejoices with the truth. His love endures all things – it will never end.
Knowing God loves you is different than experiencing being loved by God. In his book “Now I Become Myself,” pastor and author Ken Shigematsu says, “We tend to think that if we change, God will love us, but if we let God love us, we will change.” Brain science affirms this. Being seen and known and still loved changes you.
Prayer: Father, help me to see Your love today. Help me to understand how high, deep, and wide Your love is.
Reflection: Think about one area of your life where you are struggling. What does God’s love for you look like in this area? How does God’s love help you love others?
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