Good Morning All!!
1 John 4: 7-8; “Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does
not know God, because God is love.”
They
are some of the saddest conversations that I ever take part in. It usually begins with something that
happened that went horribly wrong. It
might have been a rupture in a relationship; a really bad break; one that might
even involve lawsuits and restraining orders.
Sometimes the guy on the bad end didn’t see it coming and now he is
out. Now their friends and not his
friends and everyone assume everything is his fault. It might be a marriage or two brothers or two
neighbors but it can be painful.
The toughest one was a guy who had been divorced a couple of times who
had just been left by a girlfriend. She
just left, no note, no contact just disappeared and moved two states away. We sat and talked. He was convinced that no one loved him or
wanted to even talk to him. As we
talked, he said he believed in God and believed that God loves people; just not
him. We talked some more but I don’t
know if I changed his mind. He believed
in God he just didn’t think God loved him.
Perhaps you are at that thought as well.
Perhaps it feels like God does not love you. It is a very painful thought to have. It causes a morose that is difficult to
experience. It might happen if a loved
one dies or you receive a bad doctor’s report or lose a job. It might be when you sit and think about your
life, your actions and the results of your actions. You might look at your life and think you don’t
deserve God’s love. Either way, you experience
loneliness and emptiness.
Into this despair, God sends Jesus to display his love. Love is not something God does. Love is who God is. Loves is the very substance of which God is
made of. He does not take delight in
your suffering and your pain. He suffers
with you. His desire is to heal
you. His love covers you and, like Peter
writes, love covers a multitude of sins.
God pours out his love through His Son and through His Spirit on you so
that you might know peace. He gives us a
peace and a hope that the world cannot understand or remotely offer to
you. God’s love is there to support you
in your times of fear or sorrow.
God is love. This simple truth gives us all the hope we
need. God displays his love for us
through Jesus but also through the sustaining gifts and blessings that he
bestows on us as his children. Even if
you “feel” unloved; you are totally loved.
God covers you with his love and it engulfs you completely.
Gracious Father,
I often feel lost and unloved. Yet in
your mercy, you never abandon me. Your
love is greater than anything I could ever imagine. It supports me even when I feel alone. Send your Spirit to keep me in your
peace. Lead me to share your love with
others who are hurting in this world. In
the precious name of Jesus I pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
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