John3:16 – M E L C H E E

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…” John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It all started with love. God’s creation and His plan for salvation through His Son were due to the pouring out of perfect love by Love Himself. Love will never be displayed in any greater form than through God’s pure and perfect and immeasurable sharing of it to mankind. Don’t know about you, but I’m so undeserving, yet oh so thankful.

As God loves us, so ought we to learn to live in love. How? Bible teacher Joyce Meyer describes the process of living in love this way:

Living in God’s true love is a process. First, God loves us, and by faith, we receive His love. We then love ourselves in a balanced way, give love back to God, and learn to love other people. (Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – a Daily Devotional)

We love God through intentional and focused worship and by saying yes to His promptings and guidance. We love ourselves by honoring our temple (mind, body, and soul), and being content with and grateful for our blessings. We love others by giving when there’s need, by praying for them, and by sharing His Word. More on giving in next week’s post…

Love is so important in whatever life assignment God has set in us. It means giving up of ourselves so that we can fully serve others. Love must be at the center of our work, it must be our motivation. Without love, there’s no purpose in anything.

Joyce Meyer’s description of how to love is one of my favorites. John 3:16 states the whole point of the Bible. And 1 Corinthians 13, what I call The Love Chapter, is just the sweetest melody of what love is and isn’t:

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-5, 7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Love has everything to do with it. How will you love God, yourself, and others today?

February. A celebration of a history, a culmination (hopefully) of winter’s long season, and college basketball. The shortest month of the year with, for some, the busiest schedules and the longest lists of “to do.”

Then there’s the 14th, the day of Cupid’s arrow, hearts, flowers and chocolates. The day we put love on display in all its fabulous reds and pinks and, well, chocolates.

But in all our efforts to make love shine, nothing compares to the greatest love story ever – between God and His people. His people = you and me!

John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (‭KJV) To me, this says God loved me so much that He gave of Himself. Jesus gave His very life so that you and I could know of true life, set free of sin. Now what box of chocolate is going to do that!

But we aren’t born knowing of and realizing God’s love for us. The journey of love generally is one long traveled, I would say! Sure, we soon realize that something we feel from mommy and daddy, but the path to love is truly a discovery.

In one of her devotionals, Bible teacher and speaker Joyce Meyer describes love’s journey in God this way: Living in God’s true love is a process. First, God loves us, and by faith, we receive His love. We then love ourselves in a balanced way, give love back to God, and learn to love other people. (Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – A Daily Devotional)

God’s love is perfect. It is true, it is deep, it is pure and it is sure. It doesn’t change, and it’s not based on us. He chooses to love. And once we get to that realization, my oh my… Happy is the heart.

More on love next week, but in the meantime, check out John 3:16 again, and share in the comments below what God’s love has meant to you.

xoxo.

Tag: John3:16

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