God’s Enduring Love
God's love shines forth through us into a dark world. Let His love shine brightly.
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first,” doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, The Message
How would you like to be someone’s miracle?
The world we live in seeks desperately for some sign that God is real, and many look for mighty works as proof that God is actually among us. That’s not a bad plan; Jesus commented that the miracles he accomplished came about because He and the Father were one. Then He told His disciples that they—and we—will do even greater works than He did, because of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
We all love seeing miraculous answers to prayer, but we also need to remember that sometimes we are the miracle for which someone is praying. The greatest characteristic of God’s presence in us is His rich, powerful love. He promises that it is ever increasing, and it gives itself away to others. Scripture tells us that the whole earth is waiting in eager anticipation for the arrival of the children of God. One of the great reasons is our hunger for God’s enduring love, shining forth in His children. When we offer others the love of God, when we love them the way He loves them, we are already the signs and wonders of God’s presence on the earth. We, the Body of Christ, have already responded to the world’s longing for the children of God to show up. And the exciting thing is that every day God keeps finding ways to enlarge us with his love, so that it might flow freely into a hurting world. He is taking our finite, natural love and enlarging it, filling us with His infinite love that “keeps going to the end!”
(See Romans 8:19, John 14:11-13, John 13:34-35.)
Response:
As you read the passage about love from The Message, which characteristics about love do you want God to increase in you?
Where in your life would you like to see God’s love flow freely through you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, my desire is to love You and others in the same way that You love the Father and me. Lord, fill me with such love.
