Verse: 1 John 4:9-10
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Devotion:
What a simple, but sweet and deeply profound reminder we have today. Think about the first part of this. The LOVE of God was made MANIFEST among us. The dictionary definition of manifest is 1- to make clear or evident to the eye or the understanding; show plainly or 2- to prove; put beyond doubt or question:
We can put aside all worldly definitions we know of love. He told us, clearly and plainly, sending His son for us is His love embodied. It is beyond a doubt or question a pure testament of His love for us. We hear this all the time, right? Take a second to really sit with it. The creator of the UNIVERSE chose you. He knew you from the beginning of time and chose to show us what His love is in the clearest, most evident way possible because He wanted to make sure we knew how loved we are by Him, without a question. He did this through sending His perfect son to the world, knowing all that He would face and endure. He sent Him willingly, as the perfect lamb, so that we might have the opportunity to know Him and enter into true life through Him.
But, don’t miss the second part too. THIS is love. Not that we love Him, but He loved us enough to send His son for us before we even knew Him. It is selfless, radical, overwhelming, unconditional love. It is the deepest love that has ever been and will ever be known.
How often do you let yourself sit in that profound reality? Think about the person you love most in the world. Your best friend, your spouse, your kids, your parent, etc. Think about how much you love them and all that you would be willing to do for them. This is not even a drop in the bucket of how much the Lord loves you. He knows the deepest, darkest, most intimate parts of our souls that we don’t want anyone to see. And He loves us and chooses us anyway.
Reflect on it today. Be still and sit with the profoundness of this simple but life changing passage. Are you living like you’re a loved, chosen, valued child of God? Think about what that means to you. I think of two things- the way I speak to myself and the way I love others. I wish I could say I was always kind to myself and treated myself like a daughter of the king but that’s just not true. I far too often let the world speak into my value instead of trusting in the true words of the father. Secondly, I know that my entire life should be an overflow of this love onto those around me. In the moments where my heart is most hardened and not loving, my prayer is that this verse will come to mind and remind me of the ceaseless love that I pour out from. Spend some time with the Lord today asking Him to show you the corners of your heart that these verses should touch and challenge you.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for these simple, straight forward reminders that are the most profound passages. Help me to be still and feel the reality of your love, the depth and magnitude of it. Thank you for showing me what true love is. Thank you for Your son, and for loving me enough to bridge my gap to You with Him. Lord, show me today how Your love can change me and shape me to be more and more like you. We love you Lord, amen.
Author: Becca Artymenko
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