Monday, November 9, 1998
Monday, November 9, 1998
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
We love because he first loved us. This is so critical to our understanding of love. Love does not
happen in a vacuum. Love is something that is passed from one person to another. This is one
reason Christian parents are so important. A child who does not receive love, psychologists tell
us, will not be able to give love. There will always be a void there--a terrible void that can never
be filled. On the other hand, a child who has received the proper amount of nurturing as an infant
and as a toddler will have a sense of security and trust that will last them all their lives.
This is also true with regard to Christ's example of love. Many Christians try to love without first
nurturing their relationship with him. They are doomed to fail. We draw our ability to love from
our connection to him. Without that connection our faith is simply an exercise in noble living. It
has no real power to draw us out of ourselves and center us in others.
A family from the Northeast went on a vacation to Colorado. One night they ordered pizza. Their
five-year-old kept asking when the pizza was going to get there. Finally, the five-year-old asked
nervously, "Do you think they know we're in Colorado?"
Does Jesus know us or were we live? If you have a close relationship with Christ, he will know,
and we will know love.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, my guide, may I always do my best to know you in my heart. Amen.
Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA
(1 John 4:10
NRSV)