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.
For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved. (John
3:16-17 KJV)
Note: This post is an
edited and revised version of what I shared last year on Valentine’s Day.
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| God's Valentine image from pixabay |
Happy Valentine’s Day!
God loves you so much—more than you or anyone can begin to fathom!
Have you ever realized that you are God’s Valentine and
that He is yours? Think about what this
means; let it seep deeply into your soul—your innermost being. How does knowing
this change your view of yourself, your view of God, and your view of others?
God loves each and every one of His children fully and completely—a
love that is uniquely and individually designed for His children. God’s love for us is so intense and deep that
we are unable to fathom it this side of Heaven.
God’s love is a love that completes and fulfills us in a way that nothing
or no one on earth can.
Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1 KJV)
Since we live in a sinful, fallen world,
it makes sense that the love we experience here would seem rather
incomplete. In Heaven, I believe that we
will experience such a fullness of God’s love that our earthly bodies and minds
simply could not handle it.
God’s love of and for us is an empowering
love, it is not a love that
controls or manipulates to get its own way; it is a love that sets its object
(that is us!) free! Due to the sinful
world we inhabit, at times we experience love that is anything but freeing; in
fact, it sometimes controls and manipulates to get its own way. Sadly, “love” in this world can also be horrifically
abusive.
Even at that, I believe we can catch
glimpses of this love in the world around us, as well as throughout the
Scriptures. Think about this: God’s Word (both the Old and New Testaments)
is His love letter to us. How cool is
that?! Try reading your Bible as God’s
love letter to you; see what a difference it makes in how you perceive the
words in it.
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| Personal Photo |
How does knowing the Bible is God’s love
letter to you change how you read it?
What do you think about this idea of the Bible being God’s love letter
to you?
In February 2009 (including Valentine’s
weekend), I was blessed to go on a Walk to Emmaus retreat—a 72 hour date with
the Lord. It was a wonderful time of spiritual
growth, nourishment, and renewal!
Experiencing God’s love and the love of His children was simply amazing! I simply do not have the words to describe that
time. To learn more about this
experience, please see: Walk to Emmaus.
We see God’s love for us in the imagery of
a shepherd caring for his or her sheep—protection, provision, care, and
guidance. His love for us goes far
beyond the love we feel for our family and friends or receive from them. It is a love that heals and love that
provides safety and security that is not of this world.
God’s love is perfect and complete—it fits
us perfectly, it heals us and sets us free from fear (1 John 4:18 KJV) and bondage
to sin. God’s love is the real thing!
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will
save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy
over thee with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17 KJV)
How have you experienced God’s love? How have you shared it?
Please join with me in prayer:
Dear God of Love, we long to bask in the
healing warmth of Your love. Please pour
into our open hearts Your love, so that we may in turn pour out that love on
others. It is only in and through You
that we have any capacity to love. Fill
us with Your Holy Spirit, enabling us to love those who are the most
challenging to love—who are the ones who are the most loved-starved in our
midst. As we begin to think about
preparing for Lent and then Easter, direct our attention to Your greatest demonstration
of love—sending Your precious and only Son, Jesus Christ, to walk on earth and to
die on the cross in our place, and rising again—giving us access to You and to
eternal life that is worth living. In Jesus’
Name, we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
