He LOVES you!

This is a pretty stressful week for me! I have a big program at work, juggling home responsibilities and lots of church activities as Resurrection Sunday quickly approaches. Sometimes I close my eyes and think about being transported to a quiet island with no other inhabitants other than me and my favorite barista at Starbucks. It’s been that kind of week, y’all! But as I drove into work today, I kept hearing Casey J singing “love of God overflow, permeate all my soul…” over and over. It reminded me that in the midst of a crazy and distracting world, God’s love is an anchor. It is a stabilizing, strengthening and powerful force that can keep you like nothing else can. It is because of that love that we can celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It is because of that love that you can face whatever comes your way.

Sometimes it seems that the church has become too casual about God’s love. It is taken for granted and sometimes spoken of lightly. Think about it! How many times have you heard John 3:16 just thrown out without any passion or conviction. Many of you can say that it was your first scripture that you memorized. The question is was it the first scripture that you really put in your heart. Let’s read it! ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That’s how I learned it…in the King James! Do you feel the depth of love that is being expressed here? If not, let me give you the Message version so you can really feel it!  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” Do you get it now? Imagine giving up your only child for the sake of a bunch of broken people. You would have to watch your child die so that others could live. That’s what God did and that’s how much He loves us.

I would encourage you to read 1 John 4 to really grab hold to what God’s love means. The whole Bible is a love letter but I believe this chapter really speaks to the concept of God’s love. You have to know that God is love. If you feel love, you feel God. If you don’t love, you don’t know God. I mean, this chapter is powerful! “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.” (1 John 4: 9 – 12 NLT)  I love that! This is how you hold on in the midst of struggle and confusion. You remember who lives in you. You remember that you are an expression of His perfect love. So therefore, fear can’t live there! Because God’s perfect love, “expels all fear.”(1 John 4: 16, NLT)

As you go through these next few days, remember who you belong to! Remember what He did for you! Do not let circumstances, fear, depression, anger, confusion or anything else distract you from experiencing the perfect fullness of God’s love. Let it overflow in you. Let it cover those sins and restore you back to Him. Let it carry you through grief. Let it carry you through transition. You can overcome, progress, and win because He loves you. “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then My faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, “says the Lord who has mercy on you. (Is. 54:10, NLT) Now THAT’S love!!

Amen.