Dearly Loved Children Life of Love

Dearly Loved Children

Life of Love

Is what you spend your love on

producing everlasting returns?

 To be imitators of our Father in Heaven,

we find a long list of words to choose from

that describe God’s character.

The greatest word to describe God’s character

and the #1 on that list is love.

John says it so clearly:

“God Is LOVE”

In the same breath,

we are told to be imitators of God.

We are told to

“live a life of love.”

Maybe one of the reasons

God is so misunderstood is

because love is misunderstood.

We, as God’s loved children, should

care for others more than anyone else.

But sometimes loving is not giving

into what someone else wants.

Love is more than kindness and benevolence.

God’s love takes in the big picture.

I saw a sign the other day that said:

 “Overweight pets are subject to health problems”

People love their pets.

After years of battling,

I broke down and said my grand daughter

(who lives in our basement apartment) could get a dog.

Kylii used to come up everyday

and hug me, sit on my lap and talk.

 

But since the dog moved in I am

greatly suffering from hug deficiency.  

I have to admit the dog is cuter than me.

 As much as people love their pets,

their love can harm them.

If treats is a way you show love to your dog,

and its belly shows you love him or her a lot;

than be careful, you may discover

you don’t love as much as you thought.

When I was a boy, I had gold fish.

Yes, ‘had’ - they died

because I loved them so much I could

not stop holding and petting them.

Our Father’s love is not selfish-based

and it is not based on our desires.

God’s love is an everlasting love;

not a love for the moment.

Sometimes love forces us

to make tough decisions.

Look at how tough a decision

it must have been for God who

loved His Son and loved the world…

“God so loved the world He gave His Son.”

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV

5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore,

as dearly loved children

2 and live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us

as a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to God.

John 3:16-21 NIV

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.  

19 This is the verdict:

Light has come into the world,

 but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

20 Everyone who does evil hates the light,

and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,

so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."