CHRISTLife — Eight: Made for God, Made for Love

I led them with chords of human kindness, with ties of love.
Hosea 11:4

We cannot explain or fully comprehend God’s persistent love.  It is just how God is. In 1 John 4:16 it says, “And we know and rely on the love God has for us.”  However, you cannot rely on something unless you accept it, believe it, receive it.  Maybe it’s hard for us because we don’t feel worthy.  Maybe you still think it’s something that you can win by works.  I don’t know where you are today in your thinking but I know where God is.  He’s in love with you.

Your Creator craves spending time with you. He created us with a desire that can only be filled with Him. No matter what we do, or how far you think you are from Him, you’re never too far that His arms can’t reach you, my friend. And the only way to hear from Him is in His word—His love letter to you. So let’s go there today and see what He has to say.

The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth
to be His people, His treasured possession.
The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you
because you were more numerous than other peoples,
for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you
and kept the oath He swore to your forefathers.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8

 He chose you out of the goodness of His heart, and His grace will always find you.

I am in them and You are in Me.
May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me
and that You love them as much as You love Me.
John 17:23

 See? God love you as much as He loves His very own Son. If you are a parent, then you know just how much that is. And He wants us to live in unity with each other, to be branches of the true Vine. He is calling us to be true witnesses of God’s true love for His believers. His desire is for us as believers to be as one—a powerful witness to the reality of God’s great love. Pray for each other, build each other up, love each other, work together, give your time and money, and praise His name together! Love bears all things, remember?

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-
not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below-
indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us
from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

 These are among the most comforting promises in all of the Scriptures. As followers of Jesus, we still must go through hard times, sometimes it feels as though He has abandoned us. But Paul writes that it is impossible to ever be separated from Him. His death is all the proof we need, it’s an assurance that He will never abandon us, not ever. And our security should come from this—that His love for us is so great that His Son paid our price.  Hallelujah! We have been set free by His abundant love.

Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us
in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His family
by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:4-5

Paul says “God loved us and chose us,” and he emphasized that salvation depends totally on the Lord. There is nothing we can do to deserve it; it is freely given by our gracious Heavenly Father. In no way can we ever take the credit for this. Don’t you see? Salvation existed in God’s mind long before we were even created. He loves us that much and He knew our fall before we came here. He still created us, knowing exactly how we could be: sinful, undeserving, jealous, addicted, just plain sinners. Yet, Jesus died for us so that we could be with Him forever! Never separated!  We may feel that way due to sin that has allowed us to put our own barrier up, but He has never moved. His promises are true and His word is our rock. Claim this today, dear friends. You are right there with your Creator.

I end with this…a little more comfort and something to stand on.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father,
Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope,
comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Now let’s see how we answer the question Mrs. Myers writes at the end of this chapter: “What further whispers of God’s personal love for you can you hear and enjoy in these passages….?” If you can’t hear any, then slow down and be still. Read His word and spend time with God. That’s how you hear Him…just listen.

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Let us pray:  Oh God, we want to hear more from You!  You are our Rock, our Stronghold, our Help in time of trouble. You hear us when we call and You answer. Not one prayer goes unheard and You love each one of us. Thank You for always having an open door for us to walk through. Thank You for breaking down all the barriers that could ever come between us and You. We love You and we praise You for You are good. Your love is constant. Give us a deep love for each other and may we stand together so we can spread the news that You are God and You sent Jesus to die in our place. One day we will stand with You—what a day that will be. Until then, we cling to Your promises and that You love us and want to be with us. It is in Your Son’s name we pray, amen.

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