Saturday 23 May 2020

May 23: 1 John 4:7-11

Key Verse: 1 John 4:11
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Devotion:
Having looked into God’s definition of love albeit in layman's terms for our sakes, we can now look at what God is asking us to do with this love. He is asking us to love one another, which again raises the doubts we have of being able to love our enemies; but as long as we keep hold of our own definition of love we will probably never be able to love our enemies!

So how do we do it? Well, we start with the love God is giving us and not what we claim to have ourselves! True love comes from God and has been shown to us through His actions. God showed His love to the Israelites by taking them out of slavery and into a land where they could thrive. God showed the love He has for all of us by allowing His one and only Son to give His own life up on the cross in our stead!

It is through Jesus’ action on the cross we have access to eternal life, not because we deserve it but because He loved us enough to provide a way for us to join Him in Heaven despite us having sin in our lives which excludes us from being with Him! His love far out-weighs the sins we have done and Jesus’ blood covers them all allowing us to come out as if we had not sinned – this is the only way we can be with God the Father!

We don’t get a free pass to Heaven just because we declare our love for God, nor for saying we love Jesus or for saying we have the Holy Spirit. We gain access to Heaven because of what Jesus has done and because He is willing to inter seed on our behalves – He is the only one who can do this because He alone shed His blood to cover our sins. This is God’s love for us embodied… so our choice is to either reject that love or to grasp it fully and follow God’s wishes; to take this love He gives us and share it with the people around us, friends and enemies alike!

Points to Ponder:
What is the most you have done for love?

Do you realise how much God has done because of His love?