Dear Ones,
May you have a blessed day. Al will be off to meet with the men and then preach at Assisted Living. I plan to make stroganoff and cookies and go to Exercise, Crafts and Bible study.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Most of us would say we want to love more and not just those who love us. Paul said in I Cor. 13:2, “If I have not love, I am nothing.” We are to love everyone, and we can only love as we grow in the Lord and He pours His love into us. His love goes beyond our natural boundaries of friends and family, and loves those who don’t even treat us well and are hard to love. John says, “God’s love is perfected in us when we love others.” (I John 4:12)
We find if we love others simply because we are rewarded in some way now and love may be returned, or rewarded in eternity, then our love is rather self-centered. But we are making progress when we love others unselfishly and care for their interests, not just what we are getting from the relationship. It’s not about self, but about them and how we can please the Lord. It is freeing when we can get to the point of caring for the well-being of others and what we can give them not what we can receive.
We will grow in holiness as we express love for God by loving others in an unselfish way. It may be demonstrated in ways of helping them, giving counsel, praying, listening, providing for needs, etc.
We are not self-sufficient, but all of us are made to need one another, whether it be for physical needs, spiritual ones or emotional ones. We are interdependent and can love others because of God’s love feely given to us. If we consider the marriage relationship, we know it is one in which husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and wives are to have love that is filled with respect and reverence. (Eph. 5:25) How beautiful it is that such love imitates the mutual love of Christ and the church.
May we all grow in love towards God and to one another.
Challenge for today: Open your heart in greater ways to the Lord and express His love in selfless ways.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy