What is Love?
Love
is an intense feeling of deep affection! (New Oxford American
Dictionary)
As winter is upon us and the days
of February have started to pass, many of us will think
of Valentine’s Day, and I can
only imagine the kind of emotions and memories that will get
stirred up in your hearts and
minds. A special poetic card that you
received, or maybe there
was a box of chocolates, or maybe
flowers, a dozen roses by chance? How
all those things
were nice in the moment, but, is
that really love?
The Love I have in my heart, and am speaking of, is the kind of
Love GREATER than
any box of chocolates or poetic card or even a dozen roses in all
their beauty. I am speaking
of God’s Love! The kind of Love that is shared with us each and
every day, not just
some singular day on the calendar.
What makes God’s love so amazing?
Simple, God’s Love for us was the motivation to send
his one and only Son to die for our sins. This Love is described in 1 John 4:7-12.
Dear friends, let us love one
another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has
been born of God and knows
God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because
God is love. This is how God showed love among us: he sent
his one and only Son into
the world that we might live
through him. This is love: not that
we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends,
since God
so loved us, we also ought to
love one another.
As I think about this love: I have the thought, can we truly see
God? This is where I challenge
you to think about whether
or not we can.
I would like to first include
some scripture to start your thought process from 1 John 4:12.
No one has ever seen God; if we
love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
After thinking about this
scripture, I have to ask the following questions:
1.
Can people
see you?
2.
Can people
see the love that we show towards others?
Now if you think about your answers to these questions, and
consider the words in 1 John 4:12
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and
his love is perfected in us”,
do you think that we can see God when we see people showing love towards
others? IF God
abides in us, he dwells in us – so?
I will let you think about that last question, I definitely have my
answer, and I have faith that
you will have a definite answer too.
I leave you with a final piece of scripture that I hope you find
encouraging and full of
God’s Love; I quote from Proverbs 3:4-5:
Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Closing
Prayer: Loving and Gracious Father, we come to you
today as vital part of your
body
to thank you for the infinite love you give to us! We ask that you continue to let us
be
witness of your love so that others may see you. We thank you for your loving guidance
through the Holy Spirit, and for your Son
Jesus, and in his name we pray. Amen.