Real Love

We talk a lot about love, and we use it in so many ways these days.  We love our Husband or Wife, Mom or Dad, Son or Daughter, and boyfriend or girlfriend.  But, we also love chocolate, coffee or even our favorite sports team … we might even love activities, like bowling or golf.  Love has kind of lost its meaning in translation.  When we look it up in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary we find 9 different definitions. The three it emphasizes most are, “a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person, attraction that includes sexual desire, and the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.”  Way down on the list it mentions God, but we all know that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). 

God is the only one that really knows how to love completely.  God has a “steadfast love” for us (Psalm 107:21).  God’s love is not like that of man, our love seems to come and go, can be fickle, temporary and even sometimes fake.  “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  What an awesome assurance that should be to us.  We have days when we feel down, maybe a bit sad or maybe that no one cares and it just doesn’t matter anymore … but it does, because of our amazing God. 

No matter what we do, where we have been or where we find ourselves now, one thing is sure, God still loves us.  Listen to Jeremiah from Lamentations 3:31-33, “Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return.  If he works severely, he also works tenderly.  His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.  He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way” (Message).  I love that, our Master won’t ever walk out and his “stockpiles of love are immense”.  What reassurance in a world that can be so chaotic and stressful at times.  “All of God’s ways are loving.” (Psalm 25:10).

Maybe the most amazing thing of all about God and His love for us is this, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  We all probably know John 3:16, but God loved us so much that he was willing to give up His only Son to save us.  To save you … To save me.  Amazing!  Just remember when things seem tough, or when times are great, don’t forget how much you are loved.  I leave you with the blessing Paul spoke to the church at Ephesus thousands of years ago, still so true for you and I today.  “According to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

God Bless!