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Show God’s Love: 1
‘God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.’ Romans 5:8 NLT
Human love says, ‘I’ll love you as long as you meet my expectations, agree with my politics, attend my church, or fit into my friendship circle.’
God’s love isn’t like that. He didn’t wait for us to become worthy before making the first move. ‘God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.’ And when He did, He changed all the rules.
Jesus said, ‘Now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you.’ (John 13:34 NLT) He also said: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ (Matthew 22:39 CEV) And: ‘Love… without hoping to get anything back.’ (Luke 6:35 NCV)
Love isn’t a feeling, it’s a doing. It’s about giving without counting the cost, without an expectation of receiving in return. When Jesus gave us a new commandment—to love as He had loved—what did He mean? Simply this: true love requires sacrifice. Perhaps it will be a sacrifice of time, a sacrifice of energy, a sacrifice of effort or a sacrifice of money. Together these add up to commitment, no matter what our feelings are.
Sometimes we feel that the sacrifice was in vain. The love didn’t last. It wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t true. The deeper our feelings when the situation went belly up, the more it hurt. In these circumstances, only the Lord can heal your heart of the wounds that other people inflict on us. Jesus has the scars to show He knows what we’re feeling.
‘Love comes from God.’ (1 John 4:7 NIV) Ultimately, it’s worth it, whatever the cost.
SoulFood: 1 Sam 16–17, Matt 27:32–44, Ps 68:1–18, Pro 22:1–5
word4today an adaptation of The Word For Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2019
