Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Thursday, March 9, 2017

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“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:8).

Have you ever wondered if you really knew what love was? Has your life been so full of dysfunctional relationships that love seems like a fairy tale? It occurs to me that the devil’s plan is to distort our familial relationships as a first assault on our relationship with God, our Father. If your father (or mother, as the case may be) was not a great example of love, odds are that your perspective on love is skewed. Gangs are bursting at the seams with members due to skewed perspectives on love. Strip clubs are ram packed with performers and patrons due to skewed perspectives on love. Mental health facilities, suicide watch wards, terrible marriages, and dysfunctional church congregations are all full of broken people who suffer from love deficits.

God is love. It’s a simple enough sentence but has eternal implications. It would have been simple for an all-powerful Creator to rip up the prototype called earth, with all of its inhabitants when we all went astray. However, the One who is the manifestation of perfect love could not do that. He created us to live in eternal bliss with Him. He created us to enjoy all the beauty He continually creates and know no limits to blessing. The ultimate enemy of love, Satan threw shade on God’s ideal but our Father would not lay down and accept it. The Bible says,
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9). While we were at our worst and the devil continued his underhanded plot to separate us from our God and sanity, the One who is love personified gave us His Son so we could live. Jesus died the death we deserved so we could live forever. When justice demanded payment for lawlessness, Jesus volunteered to show our Father’s love by giving Himself up as the universe’s greatest sacrifice ever.

I will not multiply words because none suffice to communicate God’s great love. If you do not understand love or want to become more loving, ask your heavenly Father to reveal the plan of salvation to you. Begin with Isaiah 53 and Ezekiel 16. Prayerfully read them daily until your heart melts with gratitude and reflect the love God has for you. One day soon you will experience Him in His fullness. Until then, keep seeking His face and reflecting His love to others.—L. David Harris (www.DavidWritesaLot.com)