Devotions
Rev Gav
Love
1 John 4.19 – 5.4
We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.
Reflect
Many of us did not experience love as children, and because of this it can be dfficult to experience or feel loved by God. We have to learn to be loved, and this comes from allowing ourselves to be unconditionally loved by someone.
The mandate from Jesus to “love one another” is not just a command to ensure the smooth running of God’s kingdom, but has life-changing consequences for the recipient of that love, because it opens the door for them to receive God’s love.
When we unconditionally love someone, our love is not jealous nor self-seeking, but envelopes the person with a hope for their wholeness and wellbeing.
In fact, when we obey Jesus’ mandate to love, because we are filled with God’s Spirit, the other person experiences God’s love expressed through us.
To experience unconditional love defies all rational logic. We know it is undeserved and unearned, and it changes us. Unconditional love softens us, shapes us, and allows God to heal our inner brokenness and bruises.
We posess within ourselves the ability to transform the lives of others and be transformed by others.
One of the things about unconditional love is that it perseveres. When someone is difficult, spikey, rude, or pushes us away, we do not give up on them but keep loving them. Our love pushes through any emotional or behavioural barriers they put up. And each time we do this the other person experiences a little more of God, and we aim for a time when they can say, unreservedly, “I know God loves me.”
Today, give thanks for those who love you, and look for opportunities to bring Christ’s unwavering love into the lives of others.
Pray
Holy God
Thank you for those
who love me without
cause or judgment,
and who enable me
to experience your love.
Likewise, please give me
opportunities to share
your love with others
and a perseverence
to keep loving them
even when they hurt me
or push me away.
and then