“Beloved let us love one another, because love is from God.” 1 John 4:7
Max Lucado writes: “God, motivated by love and directed by divinity, surprised everyone. He became a man. In an untouchable mystery, He disguised Himself as a carpenter (Jesus of Nazareth) and lived in a dusty Judean village. Determined to prove His love for His creation, He walked incognito through His own world. His calloused hands touched wounds and His compassionate words touched hearts. He became one of us.” (Everyday Blessings) The scripture puts it this way, “In the past God spoke … at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son (Jesus).” Hebrews 1:1-2
Valentines Day, February 14 is a day that many choose to express their love or friendship with gifts and cards and acts of sacrifice to loved ones and friends. We share that love with Valentines cards bought or made, flowers, chocolates, gifts and acts of love and kindness.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote this in her famous poem, “How Do I Love Thee?”
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace …
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
For Christians, the greatest day of love has to be the day our Saviour, Jesus, was martyred on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world. His death and resurrection give to all who believe in Him love and joy, not just for a day, but for eternity! Jesus is at the heart of our life together. He motivates our loving one another as God’s children and sets the example of sacrificial servant living for us to follow.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February17, a period of six weeks leading up to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, giving us a prime example of sacrificial love for all. Truly we love because He first loved us. 1 John 3:1ff says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God”! And that is what we are! …This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers … Dear children, let us love not with words… but with actions and in truth.
Our loving God, in the person of Jesus, who took on our humanity, motivates us to a life of love that signals to the world what a wonderful God we have who inspires compassion and sacrifice, faith and love - with words and actions! The Church of Christ can do no other than its master but love the world in His name that through that example of love many may come to call Him their Saviour and Lord.
Happy loving fellow servants!
~ Pastor Roger Ellis