Based on “The Cost of Love” by Pastor Dean Corns; 2/13-14/10,
Message #DC130; Daily Devotional #6 - “The Love of God”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): One of the characteristics of Christ that makes us so unique is the love of God. As His children, and the siblings of Jesus, we have the supernatural ability to love the unlovable and the unapproachable. With eyes that have been bathed with “Godly salve” we can see beyond the outward appearance and have compassion on the lost soul within. Perhaps we can see who we used to be, or what we would have become without Jesus’ divine intervention, because we certainly have been blessed with a “there but for the grace of God go I” attitude. We understand that only the blood of Jesus Christ could wash us as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18) and restore us to The Father, and we want the exact same thing for everyone we meet! But how do you explain to an unsaved person how desperately God loves them? How do you accurately describe Calvary and all that it cost The Father and His Son? It truly is a love story that is unique, because we certainly didn’t earn it and Jesus certainly didn’t deserve it! I suppose that’s why The Holy Spirit assists us in witnessing to the lost. Since He was a first-hand witness to the entire ordeal, then He should really be able to retell it with passion and conviction. Only with His assistance can we recount the agony, glory and sacrifice that were required to redeem mankind. While He empowers us to explain this grand event, He is simultaneously opening the ears of our audience so that they can finally comprehend The Truth. What a mighty God we serve! How grateful we are that He did the exact same thing for us when we were lost.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): And so we continue to love, forgive and give great grace to an undeserving world (1 John 3:16). Because, how will they know the love of God, if they don’t see it in us? How can they know that God is love, if we don’t display His goodness and kindness? Yes, it’s a big responsibility, but look on the bright side: it’s so much easier to forgive and love, than it is to harbor anger and resentment. And wouldn’t you rather be associated with God and His Son, than with “the other guy”?
Cultivating (Additional Reading): 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
CD
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.