Love as only God can show it
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
How far would you be willing to go to show someone that you loved them? What dollar amount would you set as a limit? How much time would you be willing to invest to show a person that you truly do love them?
I am guessing that many people might answer “It depends on who they are” to that question. As human beings we have grown to have levels of love depending on who the person is or what role they have in our life. Love likely does not mean the same thing when you are talking about your spouse or significant other and your favorite food or vacation spot. Love for your family does not mean the same thing as love for your favorite sports team (at least I hope not).
Unlike human love which has levels and limits, God’s love does not discriminate and it knows no limits.
Our Bible verse for this week is probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. Let’s spend few minutes looking at it and understand love as only God can show it.
God’s love does not discriminate. Think for a moment of how selective we are with our love. We very subjectively choose how we are going to show love and to whom we are going to show love. Think of the way you act toward people depending on who they are or how they act toward you or treat you. If you are angry at your spouse or child you probably don’t act the same way toward them as you do when things are totally copesthetic. You likely don’t say the same thing to the person who just cut you off on the freeway as you do to the person who helps you change that flat tire on the side of the busy highway.
As you read through the pages of the Bible it might feel a little indicting as you watch Jesus forgive those who killed him, stand there silently when he was plagued with false accusations and extend grace to a woman who had made a wreck of a number of marriages. Look at this in light of the words of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world”. John reminds us that God extended his love to every single last human being who has ever lived, whether they loved him or not. Even more than that, Jesus extends his love to people who many people wouldn’t even associate with. Thank God that his love doesn’t discriminate against you because of your sin or against everyone else as we all need his love!
God’s love knows no limits. If you go back to the questions we asked at the start of the devotion, you quickly realize how easily and readily we set limits to the love we show. Those limits are determined by feelings, by how someone else treats us and by a host of other reasons. John reminds us “that he (God) gave his one and only Son”. How would you react if you were Abraham and God asked you to sacrifice your only child to show God the depth of your love? God willingly sacrificed his only Son to show you the depth of his love and to guarantee the payment for forgiveness of all your sins and God’s Son willingly gave himself as that sacrifice without any regret or complaining.
If you really want to know and understand God’s love make sure that you take some quality time this Lenten season to again stand at the foot of Jesus’ cross and see how God demonstrated his limitless love in what he asked Jesus to do and what Jesus was willing to do for you and for every last person on the earth. Know that he gives that love to you and treasure that love in all circumstances of your life!