All in Love
Growing up with a "short fuse" on my dad's Scotch-Irish side, I quickly learned to blame my quick temper on my family background. For a long time, it was my easy excuse. But eventually, a deeper conviction set in: this wasn't just genetics; it was impatience and anger, plain and simple.
What neighborhood do you live in? Where do you work? Who do you live with? Where do you shop? Who do you often pass by without even noticing?
Jesus’ focus from the beginning of His ministry was that direct. The people were loving the healing miracles; whereas, telling as many as He could the good news of the kingdom was why He was sent.
Remember our definition of a parable: “an illustrative story that compares or contrasts an earthly reality with a spiritual truth.”* I am intrigued as Jennifer Kennedy Dean** describes the Incarnation as the “lived-out parable” of the love of God. After all, Jesus was not only with God in the beginning; He was God. And with His birth, life, and death among us He would illustrate the spiritual truth of God’s love. A parable “puts flesh on the eternal truth so we can see it.”**
Jesus’ urgency to reveal the secrets of the kingdom to those who believe was prefaced by a connection on a personal level with His true followers. His prayer to the Father for the “little children”—those humbly open to truth—is underlined with love for them: “Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure” (11:25-26).
Forty years had passed, A second census was ordered by the LORD (26:2), only this time it was for a new generation to enter the Promised Land (plus Caleb and Joshua, 26:65). The gravity of unbelief had been enormous.
God’s love varies greatly from human love, which is often conditional and fickle. His love endures forever (Psalm 107:1). It is unchanging despite our actions.
God’s Word—how heavenly! When we open the Bible, His scriptures go straight to our hearts and wrap around them. The meaning permeates our whole being.
I think I finally got it! How could it have taken so long? While reading through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian believers, I came to the familiar chapter on love, so familiar that I decided to skip straight to the next chapter. The Holy Spirit must have prompted me to stop and read through the famous ‘love chapter’ for the umpteenth time. That’s when I finally got it—love never ends!
When caught in uncomfortable and painful circumstances, it can feel like they last forever. We tend to pray, “God, if You hear me, fix the problem, fix the other person, get me out of the mess I’m in!” “Now, please.”
My life story is being rewritten by the one true God, who is, always has been, and always will be—Creator of the universe.
The hot pan holders I made serve the purpose of keeping hands from burning when picking up something hot. Ephesians 2:10 tells us God made us for a purpose. Every human being has a God-given purpose. He made us with meaning and a reason to be here.
So, what are we to do with this information?
I have a friend who is gifted with thoughtfulness. Every time I see her, she has a little gift for me.
Have you ever felt unloved?
Genesis 29 unfolds the story of Leah, who was married to a man who loved someone else. God saw Leah in her unloved state and opened her womb. She gave birth to Jacob’s first-born son, Reuben, and declared, “…the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now” (Genesis 29:32).
Siblings… do you have them?
Growing up, there were four of us and everyone was very talkative!
In our younger years, it was chaos… everyone talking at once or arguing!
I loved my siblings, but there were times we were divided.
Sometimes when you first meet someone, you are not sure how this relationship will go.
When I consider my relationship with God, I am shocked by what Scripture reveals about how He first perceived me.
One of my most treasured grandmother memories was when my first grandchild was three years old. I was a substitute teacher for her church missions Kabam class. When I introduced myself to the group as her grandmother, she innocently said, “Tell them how you love me.” She is now is a gifted young musician, writer and scholar. She looks forward to serving orphans and widows on mission trips each summer. Etched in my memory, her innocent statement urges me to tell others about my love story with Christ. The vastness of his individual love is unique for each follower and should be shared. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
A simple truth received is often the “bringer” of God’s miraculous power in the life of anyone!
The depth of the love story in Hosea certainly caught me by surprise when my girlfriends and I studied it in the fall. Prophecy has a way of sneaking up on you like that.
Ah, January—fun fact: “January was named for the Roman god Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways which symbolize beginnings and endings. Janus is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other with the ability to see into the future” (almanac.com). Time to put on our two faces of Janus this week and dig into the book of Hosea to build some godly wisdom for 2024.
