THIS IS LOVE

1 John 3:16-18
By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him? My little children, let’s not love in word only, neither with the tongue only, but in deed and truth. (WEB)

The New International Version translates 1 John 3:16 this way...  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (NIV) If we want to know what love is, all we have to do is look at the price that Jesus paid for our redemption. There is no greater expression of love than Jesus' death upon a cross when He took upon Himself all of the sins of the world.

Over the years, we have heard many people tell us that they struggle to believe that God loves them. While it is easy to understand why people would struggle to believe that they are loved considering the circumstances surrounding their upbringing, my prayer today is that God's love would triumph over every area of unbelief!

May faith rise up in our hearts even when circumstances, other people, an orphan world system or our own self-induced negative thoughts scream out that we are not loved. May the Holy Spirit give us the grace to continually look at the cross as the once and for all expression of the eternal love that God has for us. May we see ourselves and our eternal value to God through His eyes from now on.

For the truth is that our Heavenly Father gave up everything that He loved in order to gain our love and the cross of Jesus Christ stands as the eternal token of the price that both Father and Son paid for our redemption. May the revelation of this love cause us to never again doubt that we are loved.

Romans 8:31-39
31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? 33 Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (WEB)