Saturday, April 3, 2004

We love because he first loved us.
(1 John 4.19 NRSV)

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Love lifted Christ to the cross of calvary. "We love," John says in his epistle, "because he first loved us." Love doesn't always make us rich and healthy. Sometimes it costs us mightily. It cost Christ. But he paid the price gladly and thereby set an example for us. "Love one another," he said, "as I have loved you."

The love we share in fellowship is love we first received from Jesus. And we are still receiving it, for He is with us now, and He is still loving. He is still comforting and reassuring us with His presence.

It reminds me of a story former President Ronald Reagan once told. During World War II, Reagan's job was to review letters of recommendations. Many of these letters resulted in soldiers receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.

One letter told of a gunner who was trapped in a hole in the bottom of a B-29 bomber, following a crippling attack. The landing gear of the plane was destroyed, and the captain did not know if he could land the plane without the gunner being killed.

As it turned out, that decision never had to be made. As the plane neared England, the captain realized that they would never reach an airstrip anyway. He ordered everyone to bail out. Just as the last man stood ready to jump, the captain then took off his parachute. He knelt down beside the gunner still trapped helplessly in the hole and said, "Sergeant, looks like you and I are going to land this thing together." He did not forsake the young soldier even at the risk of his own life. That's love. That's the kind of love that lifted Christ to the cross. That's love like God's love for you and me.

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Dear God, thank you for loving me. I need your love, and may I share it freely. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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