“We love, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Sisters in Christ,
Happy February! The month of love and valentines is upon us, and what better way to celebrate this time than to look to Love, Himself. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He describes Himself in Exodus 34:6-7 as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...” The love of the Lord is steadfast and abounding, faithful and enduring. When we were even still sinning against Him, Christ showed us the ultimate love by laying down His life to pay for our debt of death. We see in 1 John 4 the overflow of God’s love: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:10-12). What a beautiful picture of God’s redeeming love for an undeserving people.
Why does love seem so elusive in this day and age? The chocolates and hearts will come and go, leaving a wake of longing and a nudge of loneliness in their stead. Do we sit at our desks waiting for the valentines to pour into our mailboxes when in actuality, God wants us to lavish love on the ones around us? God’s love is steadfast and forgiving, it endures faithfully and is gracious and patient. When have we last showed love like that to those around us? We can only truly love from an overflow of the love that God has already poured into our lives and hearts. God loved us so that we might love one another. How sweet that we can trust in Jesus’ love, a love that sacrifices and intercedes. But it is that much sweeter that we can share His love with one another. In 1 John 4:12 it says that if we love one another, God abides (lives/dwells) in us, and His love is perfected in us.
He loved us first, and when we realize and accept this sacrificial, life giving love of Christ, His perfect love in us will propel us to love one another. Let’s love from His heart this month, not as the world loves, but by giving the true and lasting love of Jesus. We have the greatest love letter in the sixty-six books of the Bible, with every book and chapter pointing to the Lover of our souls. Let’s intercede for our Sisters in the Lord through prayer, that they would know and also share with others the love of Jesus’ life-changing sacrifice, the love of His merciful salvation, and the love of a wonderful Father.
Looking to Jesus,
Jaime Angel