1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
I think we often want the hearts and flowers kind of love. We want romantic walks with spouses with perfectly sculpted bodies. We want roses and boxes of chocolates. We want perfect friends and sweet, obedient and neat children. However, love seldom looks like the romantic movies and images we fantasize about. The truest demonstration or visual representation for love that we have is of an innocent savior, brutally beaten, humiliated, and rejected, dying while hanging on a rugged cross for you and for me.
As we celebrate this Valentine’s Day, let’s remember the price that He willingly paid for us because of love. His Love for us isn’t hearts and flowers. It’s sacrifice and suffering. It’s revealed in His willingness to take our place and pay the price for our sins. It’s reflected in His enduring the cross and then going to hell itself to snatch the keys from the enemy that we could go free. It shines through in the stripes He bore on his back for our healing both physical and emotional.
His love isn’t pretty and sweet. It’s passionate, all consuming, and life changing. His love endures as He sits at the right hand of the Father constantly making intercession for us. His love drives Him to work on us and polish us faithfully until we are a pure reflection of Him. His love causes Him to allow us to experience fiery trials that our hearts can be purified, our faith can arise, and we can be transformed to be more like Him. His love demands that we confront our issues, love others, and demonstrate Him to the world.
His love is victorious. It catches each of our tears and drives away every fiery dart of fear and unbelief. His love for us is demonstrated in His resurrection power. He overcame death, hell, and the grave to prove His love for us and His love for the Father. His love causes Him to heal our hearts and all our sicknesses and diseases. His loves hears our prayers and moves His heart to give us what we need and not just what we want.
His loves responds to our words of praise and adoration. It causes Him to come into the midst when we lift Him and speak well of Him. His tender lover’s heart responds to our heart cries as well as to our shouts. He hears our every prayer. He is there during every triumph as well as every tragedy.
We are loved passionately, extravagantly, unconditionally, tirelessly, and overwhelmingly. His love covers us, overshadows us and protects us. He is ever praying, ever responding, ever loving to us. He is our savior, our counselor, our advocate, our friend, and our soon-coming King. He has overcome every obstacle, temptation, and difficulty to show us how He loves.
Receive His love today and rejoice knowing this – the lover of your soul has ransomed you and given you the opportunity for victory in every area of your life. He has set the bar and given the ultimate example and pattern for what love should look like and what it can accomplish. As He continues to lavish His love upon you, lavish love also upon others, that they can come to know the ultimate lover and friend and their lives can be transformed. As we focus on love this month, let it be known that we celebrate the ultimate expression of love and the victory and freedom it bought us.
Comments