Verse of the Day - 1 John 4:10

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ~ 1 John 4:10 (NLT)

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Love...

...makes the world go 'round.
...is a many splendored thing.
...means never having to say you're sorry.

Songs and movie scenes can seem to dictate our concept of love, can't they? We think of love, and we can get all giddy and mushy . . . we see hearts and can almost smell roses -- it's a Valentine's Day marketer's dream! But real love . . . as demonstrated by God, who is the Author . . . is something we can hardly begin to fathom. It goes so far beyond hearts and candy...those things don't even enter into God's thoughts when He thinks of His love for us. It is powerful and intense, gripping and ferocious. And it caused Him to give up unto death His Son...for us. Willing to allow brutality and savagery to be inflicted on the One He loves...for the many He loves.

Somehow, silly romanticism seems out of place in comparison.

How can people use the argument, "If God is a loving God, how can He send people to hell?" He doesn't send them....they send themselves! We're sinful by nature because of Adam's rebellion, and we are destined for destruction. God is trying to rescue us, not condemn us! The world's thinking is completely backwards on this. But many just don't get it.

When we understand the truth about sin, about how man rebelled and genetically mutated all of mankind with a sin nature, which separates us from God, we can then understand that hell is our destiny. That's not God's issue -- it's ours. We're the ones who made our bed...now we have to lie in it. Or do we? No, we have options to our predicament. But there's only one option that holds water. We can try to be a good enough person and hope that's enough to buy our way into heaven, we can try to spiritualize ourselves with pop theology, or we can accept God's gift of love...Jesus, God in the flesh, born to die for our sins...the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Oh, and by the way, God did this before we even knew who He was. Without any commitment on our part. It was a unilateral decision to offer a way...the way...of escape, of eternal life over eternal death. There was no 'give and take' on God's part in His act of love. It was all 'give'. We're the ones who have to 'take'. We have to accept fully this gift of love. Not just looking at a manger scene at Christmas-time and thinking what a pretty Christmas card that would make. Accepting Jesus' gift of love on the cross is a spiritual act, of believing that what He did for you is completely sufficient to cover your sins and make you right with God. It means dying to your old way of life, where self was your god. It means allowing God to come into your life and let the Holy Spirit take control.

That, my friends, is the ultimate love relationship. No hearts, no candy, no flowers...but you will never know greater joy, greater comfort, greater peace with any earthly relationship. God's love is bigger and better than anything we can conjure up or imagine...

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ~ Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

Love,
Joelene