Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 22, 2016
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
There are some truths that make me sigh in relief. One of these is that real love is contagious. Let me explain. You see, since I met my husband, I’ve caught his love kind of like you catch a cold or the flu and spread it around (only it’s much nicer). Because Clark gives me his love, I find myself giving it back to him—and to others who are around me too. That’s the way real love is. It’s contagious.
Perhaps you have experienced this, too. Think about the most loving person you know. When you are around them, I bet they make you light up on the inside, and when you walk away, you walk away feeling more tender and loving. Why? Because love is contagious.
“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget this simple truth. I think, “I want to become a more loving person.” So, I try harder in my own power. But the great news is that God’s kids don’t have to muster up their own love. Why? Because God is the Author of Love—and His love is definitely contagious (1 John 4:8)! And that, dear friends, makes me sigh in happy relief. God wants to empower me—and you—through His Spirit to love well. We just have to remain in close relationship with Christ. Love comes from being in a relationship with The Author of Love. Then we’ll naturally want to spread His love around.
Trying to love out of our own willpower is exhausting, but loving because we have already received love from the Giver of Love is exhilarating and empowering. As we spend time with Him, acknowledge that we are His children, that we are not orphans (John 17:10), (so everything He has He has given to us), and live in the knowledge of His presence and tender care. His tender love will make us tenderly loving. When you encounter Grace, it will make you gracious. When you embrace the law, it will make you legalistic. And when you experience the Author of Love, it will make you more loving because love is contagious.
Won’t you spend some time with Him today? Ask Him to give you a fresh revelation of His love for you so you can share it with others.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Prayer
Lord, how marvelous it is that I don’t have to muster up the strength to love on my own! Help me to remember that as I live in a love relationship with you, that you will give me the love I need to love others well. Help me rest in just being your vessel of love, Lord. Amen.Application
Do a search about God’s love for you in a concordance or online. Then, pray He will give you an opportunity to speak or demonstrate His love to someone else.Related Reading
1 John 2:10; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:22-23; 1 John 4:20-5:1Post/Tweet today
Love comes from being in a relationship with The Author of Love—Jesus Christ. #LoveisContagious #WisdomHuntersWorship Resource
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