1 John 4:9-11 NIV [9] This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. [10] This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
The love of God is so vast and deep that we will never truly grasp how much our Father loves us. His love for us sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him and receive the awesome gift of salvation. He did all of this not because we loved him first, but he loved us and paved a way of salvation before we accepted him. Through Jesus we are set free from the bondage of sin and the sting of death. We have been given the precious gift of life in Christ that knows no limits or boundaries. Our new life in him gives us the freedom to love the way that he loves us.
When we receive the love of God into our lives it begins to shape us into the image of the one who died for us. We are transformed so that we can be an extension of his amazing love. Our perceptions and outlook changes in our relationships when we make a decision to allow the love of God to mold us.
Loving God is easy but we often find challenges in loving others in the same manner. We look at the world today and we witness so many heinous acts by mankind and we are discouraged. We place labels on people and deem them unreachable and forever lost. But there is always an opportunity to display God’s love and forgiveness to those that are in dire need of it. If they are in darkness, how can they receive the love of God; if not through us? It’s easy to love the people you like, or get along with. But you really begin to show the Love of God when you can love beyond what’s easy.
God’s love is not selfish or selective. Therefore, we need to practice loving beyond our comfort zone. Start by praying for someone that you haven’t talked to in a while or call a friend to restore a broken relationship. If we love God whom we cannot see but struggle to love our brothers and sisters that we see every day, then we have not been perfected in our love. Don’t let yesterday’s grudge get in the way of your relationship with others.
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