It’s an especially hot, mid-summer morning, even for South Carolina. Today, there’s a bit of a break in the humidity. With the ceiling fan whirling at full speed, I’m writing on our newly constructed porch.
The old one, built on our septic tank by the previous owners, was collapsing. So, it had to be demolished and rebuilt. We love our new one. The ceiling is higher, and the floor raised, making it feel more like an extension of our house.
Jack, our twenty-month-old Aussie “puppy” is with me, as always. 😊
The low hum of cicadas dominates my hearing, even above the running water from our man-made mountain brook beside the porch. The sounds remind me of my childhood summers in the Upstate. My dad and grandfather built a water fall as well.
Divisions and hatred dominate the world these days.
Hard things are happening, much more than I can remember when I was growing up. I’m astounded at the number of shootings, natural disasters, and plane crashes throughout the world.
If we don’t grasp an overall, eternal perspective, we can easily get caught up in the madness and lose hope.
Love
When it comes right down to it, we must build our lives on love.
From Jesus: 37 And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’ (Matthew 22:37-40)
And after washing His disciple’s feet, Jesus said, 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35).
And a bit later that same night, He said, This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (John 15:12)
Grasping the magnitude of God’s amazing love for us is not just informational, it’s to become a growing realization. Beginning with grasping His love for us: We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19)
What should we know about God’s love for us?
God’s Love for Us is Everlasting
The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3)
How do we get our head and heart around everlasting love?
‘Ahabah,’ the Hebrew word for everlasting love, describes a love which is beyond anything physical or any aspect of our soul, which people describe as our mind, will and emotions.
Nothing can alter God’s eternal, unconditional love for us. It outshines every war, every illness, every natural disaster. No choice, thought, or feeling can change the quality of God’s love for us.
Pause for a moment and let this sink in.
As believers, God chose to love us before the world began. [1]
God’s Love Rescues Us
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:8-10)
Before our deliverance, we were apart from God, facing eternal darkness, with no ability to change our situation. In our helpless state, while we were still hostile toward Him, God rescued us. And He did it by sending His Son, who lived a perfect life, to die in our stead.
Please don’t allow the familiarity of this great news to cheapen the impact!
We were hostile and helpless, but God, out of His unparalleled love, gave His Son to save us.
And not only did God’s love for us save us from His wrath through Jesus’ death, but much more He is now healing us, and making us whole by His life, which indwells us by His Holy Spirit.
He is always at work for our ultimate good according to His purposes: to free us from ourselves and to make us more like Jesus. [2]
Jesus Loves Us as Much as God Loves Him
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9)
As much as God loves Jesus, He loves us. How can this really be? It seems unimaginable. Yet, Jesus said it. It is true!
Don’t rush past this. Remain in the truth of Jesus’ abiding love.
Story: If you’ve seen the movie Twister, the last scene is powerful. A raging tornado blows a building completely away. But because they strapped themselves to a pipe secured underground, the pipe saved the main characters.
God’s love is like that. He’s got us.
But we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [3] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, established before the world began, we can choose to disobey.
As believers, the strap of His love holds, but Jesus desires us to walk in the fellowship of His peace and joy. We can only do this by relying on His Holy Spirit and walking in obedience.
By His Spirit, we love.
Prayer
Lord, I’ll never fully comprehend the extent of Your love for me. It’s beyond my ability to comprehend.
However, because You describe it in Your word, I believe it and want to walk in it.
Though Your love doesn’t fit in my head, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life.
Amen.
Reflections
As believers we rest in Christ’s finished work for us on the cross.
A first step in prioritizing and nurturing our relationship with our Lord is gazing upon Him and beginning to grasp the magnitude of His great love for us.
God’s love has an eternal quality that keeps it from being affected by anything of this world, seen or unseen.
Even when we were against God, His love for us moved Him to send His own Son to die in our place, rescuing us and making us whole.
As much as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us, and we’re called to walk in the fellowship of His love.
[1] Ephesians 1:4-5
[2] Romans 8:29
[3] Romans 6:1-2
Unless otherwise specified, all verses are from the New American Standard Bible – NASB
Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:
Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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Nonfiction books by the Author:
This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.
Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.
It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.
Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.
For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy
Novels by the Author:
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Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.