Monday— God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16
“God is love!” proclaims the rainbow-colored sign parading down the street. “God is love!” declares the abortion-rights activist. “Since God is love and we love each other, why is it wrong for us three men to marry each other?” asks the guest on the talk show. Most people celebrate the idea that God is love—as long as they get to define “love.” But many people are misreading this verse. It doesn’t say “Love celebrates anything we want to do.” It says that God, as the Supreme Authority, defines love. Anything feeling outside of His definition is not love.
He breaks it down even farther. Love is not a feeling, a notion, or fantasy. It’s action, directed by righteous desires. Since God is love, He authors our human love, and different kinds of love have different godly expressions. Sexual love is confined to a man-woman marriage. Brotherly love seeks the long-term best interest of another. Agape is the way God loves undeserving humanity. But His love includes commands, judgments, boundaries, and personal sacrifice. It doesn’t always feel good. We can only understand real love when we define it the way God does.
Challenge: Who or what has defined love for you? Anything other than God will lead you astray.
Prayer: Father, if I want to understand love, I have to get to know you better. You allow some things that feel unloving to me. But I’m wrong, not you. Help me learn to define everything the way you do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Tuesday— But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
“You will tell me who stole the bread, or I will begin shooting you one by one!” screamed the guard. Martin shifted at attention and slid the slice of bread deeper into his pocket. Beside him, Duffy, the religious fanatic, stepped forward. “I did it, sir!” he called. The guard smirked. “I thought so,” he said and lifted his rifle. The shot rang out and Duffy’s body tumbled to the ground. Martin’s heart lurched and his mouth opened in shock. Suddenly everything Duffy had told him about God’s love made sense. He returned to the hut to search for Duffy’s Bible.
Jesus did what Duffy did. He didn’t just talk about love; He demonstrated it. Every one of us was born determined to be our own boss, find happiness the way we saw fit, no matter what God said. We deserved hell, not mercy. But God stepped in and sent Jesus to take our rightful punishment. We weren’t victims; we were perpetrators. No one deserved such a sacrifice; He gave it willingly so that none of us can look at God and say, “Prove you love me!”
Challenge: If you need proof that God loves you, look at Jesus.
Prayer: Father, thank you for what you did for me. You’ve already proven you love me by offering me forgiveness and restoration when I don’t deserve it. Teach me to love you back the way you love me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Wednesday— The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you ….” Deuteronomy 7:7-
“I see why God loved Mother Theresa. And my grandma. And the pastor,” said Pete. “But I can’t get my mind around God loving me. I’m a nobody. A constant screwup. I like to say I’m a good person, but am I really? It’s me-first every time. I hope someday I’ll be worthy of God’s love, but until then, I can’t accept it. Doesn’t make sense.” Have you had thoughts like that? We know our resumes. Nothing there that would make us God’s favorites.
Israel didn’t have that problem They thought they knew why God would choose them—they were drenched in awesome sauce! So God had to straighten them out, just as He does with us. Being chosen by God does not mean we’re superior in some way. It shows that God’s love is superior to ours. He considers our lengthy raps sheets and says anyway, “In spite of this, I choose to love them.” He told Israel, “You did nothing to deserve it. In fact, you tick me off. But I’m God and I have my own reasons. So appreciate it and obey me.” If you’ve felt God’s Spirit nudging you toward Him, you didn’t earn that. He chose you for His own reasons. So appreciate it and obey Him.
Challenge: You didn’t choose God; He chose you. His love is enough to cancel your rap sheet (Colossians 2:14).
Prayer: Father, thank you for choosing me. I could never earn your love. Nobody can. But I heard you whisper my name and you saved me anyway. I’m grateful. Help me to love you back by obeying you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Thursday— “…As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
The sign on the wall was oil stained and crooked, but its message was the reason Bill’s Upholstery was voted Best Place to Work five years in a row. It read: “Bill’s Rules of Employment: 1. Do the job you were hired to do and then help someone do theirs. 2. Treat your coworkers the way Management treats you.” That set the bar pretty high, but Bill lived up to it. Eighty years old, he’d never spoken a cross word with any of his employees. He treated each one as if they were his own grandchildren and most were so loyal, they refused to leave even when offered better paying positions elsewhere. The workplace was so pleasant, absentee rates were the lowest in the state.
Wouldn’t you love to work somewhere like that? Bill was only reflecting what Jesus said two thousand years ago. He’d shown His disciples how to love, and then told them to do what He did. As long as they modeled their love after His, they got along well. When we love others the way He treats us, our families, jobs, and communities thrive.
Challenge: What would your world look like if you applied Bill’s Rules of Employment with Jesus as Management?
Prayer: Jesus, that’s a tall order, but wow, would it change a lot! You showed us how it’s done by loving and serving people while they were still treating you bad. Help me learn to love like you do. Amen.
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Friday— He makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. Matt 5:45
“Show me proof of God!” Stella shouted. She flung an arm wide to indicate the vast canyon beside her. “I don’t see any evidence of some loving deity in the sky,” she went on. Deb plucked a tiny flower from beside the trail and handed it to her friend. “Touch it,” she murmured. “Smell it. Look at the veins on the purple petal. Listen to the birds chirping. Feel the wind on your face. Where’d it come from? Why is it beautiful? Why did you inhale the perfect blend of oxygen just now? Why do you have eyes that notice it all and send approving messages to your brain? Where did you get the ability to even choose whether to believe or not believe? Who do you think gave it to you?”
Even though Stella refused to believe in God, His love notes were all around her. Have you ever wondered why the entire universe is not simply grey? Why are there good smells, beautiful colors, and pleasing surfaces to touch? Why do atheists continue to breathe and enjoy nature while denying the very source of those pleasures? Two words: God’s Love. He continues to pour out love messages—even on those who refuse to hear them.
Challenge: Think today on the thousands of ways God quietly loves you. Thank Him for them.
Prayer: Father, I take for granted so many of the ways you show love to me, even when I least deserve it. Help me become more aware of your love messages and thank you for them. I’ll start with _____. In Jesus’ name, amen.
