Let all that I am praise the Lord;
….may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
….and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
….and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
….My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! Psalm 103:2-5 NLT
1 John 2:3-6 (<<click here to read the passage)
Lord, if I tried to put the essence of your entirety into one single word, it would have to be the word, LOVE. The Apostle John himself a few verses later in this epistle states that You are love. (1 John 4:8)
He is also the apostle that, in his Gospel, quotes You as saying,
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12 NLT
Here in this passage, he says,
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Lord, the life You lived on this old earth was a life of love from the moment You chose to come to live amongst us (actually from before the world was even created! Ephesians 4:1) to the moment You were taken up into heaven following the forty days You encouraged the disciples after Your resurrection. Why can’t we get it? It is so simple, You…love…us! Every interaction with every single individual of Your creation was full of love. Even Your sternness with the religious leaders of Your day was tough love. You want no one to perish. (John 3:16)
So…if we claim to “know God” we should obey You. If we say that we “live in God” then we “should live [our] lives as Jesus did.” We must love the lovable and those who are not.
In fact, we must not just love the unlovable, but we must love the hateful, as well. What were some of Your final words from the cross?
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NLT
May others be able to put the essence of our entirety into one single word as well – LOVE. Amen!
(Apr 6th, 2017, Thurs, 8:18 pm)
May 2nd. 2023, Tues, 12:19 pm
